Can Things That are Lost Be Recovered?
by Ebony Redgrave
Summary: It's Ebony and Lady's last year of high school, when suddenly, monsters start coming after Ebony, Lady hires Dante behind her back to help her out, when Dante realizes that the demons are targeting something precious to him... Who is behind the attacks? And what are they trying to achieve? AU, but not that extreme.
1. Chapter 1

_Heeeey you guys! Ok, so this is kind of an experiment with an idea I had a few days ago, I'm kind of excited for this story, and I hope you guys feel the same way. A little dorking around in this first chapter, but no worries, the next chapter is more serous. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Take care, and, if you manage to see that fancy new review button, you should try it out because when you click it, you become the ruler of the world! Muahahahaha! O.O _

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Chapter 1

In Elanay city, the sun was beginning to set. The shops began to turn on their neon signs, bars began to fill.

Demons began to prowl.

There was a certain shop with a neon sign that had a flickering D.

A man in red glared up at the flickering letter, "I should fix that sometime." He grumbled as he walked up the steps and swung the door open, letting himself in. He shrugged off his red coat and put it on a coat hanger next to his desk. He took out his guns and put them on the desk.

"Dante!" He looked up to see a woman with short black hair walk in, guns strapped to her legs. Her hetrochromic eyes landed on the man she was looking for.

Dante sat down on the chair and looked up at Lady, "What do you want now?" He sighed.

"I'm here for my pay." She said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I just paid you last week!" Dante exclaimed,

"Well, you should know that fees don't pay for themselves."

"Well, I don't have your money." Dante told her, "And what do you even use it on anyways?" Lady placed her hands on her hips,

"I'm still in school, so I need to pay for my scholarship." Lady said, irritated.

"Drop out then." Dante said nonchalantly.

"Unlike someone I know, I actually want to go to school! I want to graduate with a degree, and as much as I love killing demons, I want a normal job!" Lady fumed. Dante rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." Lady clenched her fists, holding back from shooting him senseless. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, letting out a whoosh of air,

"Look, just pay me and I'll get off your back for an entire month." She opened her eyes and looked at him. Dante raised an eyebrow,

"Really?"

Lady nodded.

Dante stood up and walked over to her, leaning in close to her face. "And how can I believe you?" He said with a grin. Lady pushed him away, making Dante chuckle.

"I have some pretty big tests coming up and I'm going to be studying day and night with my friend. I won't have time to come harass you about payment." She told him. Dante nodded his head slowly,

"This friend of yours… Is she hot?" Dante said with a mischievous grin.

"You're such a pervert!" Lady shot at him. Dante raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Hey, guys gotta have fun somehow!" Lady let out a groan of frustration and stormed out of the building. "I guess that means I don't have to pay you?" Dante called after her. He heard the roar of a motorcycle and the screeching of tires as Lady sped away from the building. Dante turned back to his desk and sat down at the chair with his eyes closed. He then opened them and looked at the ceiling, "She never answered if her friend was hot or not." He mused.

***~The Next Day~***

"Hey, Ebony!" Ebony raised her head to see Lady looking down at her. She smiled, closed the book on her lap and stood up to greet Lady.

"Hey Lady, how are things going?" She asked her. Lady shrugged,

"Eh, frustrating."

"How so?" Ebony asked, cocking her head to one side. Lady shook her head,

"This guy is just getting on my nerves…" Ebony laughed,

"Boyfriend problems?" She asked. Lady's head snapped up, eyes wide as she shook her hands vigorously,

"No! Not like that!" Ebony shook her head and shouldered her backpack as they started to walk down the hall.

"Why were you so quick to defend yourself?" She asked. Lady sighed,

"I've known this guy almost two years; he helped me out with some problems. He owes me money though, and he doesn't want to pay it."

"So, he helped you out, and he owes you? Wouldn't it be the other way around?" She asked.

"He mostly got in the way, so in truth, I don't owe him anything." Ebony smiled,

"Don't worry about it Lady, I bet he'll pay it soon or later." She told her. Just then, the bell rang.

"Ick, I don't want to go to physics…" Lady grimaced.

"You're a tough one, you'll survive." Ebony patted her on the back, Lady laughed.

"You're right, who knows? Maybe I'll have a sub." They parted ways and Ebony walked down the hall towards her AP art class when she saw a group of girls walk towards her. An air of, 'we own this place' exuding from them made her grimace.

"Damn it…" Ebony turned around when one of the girls called out to her,

"Hey, you!" Ebony's grip tightened around her book as she turned back to the girls. One had long wavy blond hair and emerald eyes. Another had dark brown hair pulled up into a ponytail. The other had short black curly hair. They all had their heads tilted up and stared down their nose at her.

"Careful, you might get a kink in your neck if you keep doing that." Ebony told them. The one with blond hair smiled and sauntered forward, her dangerously high heels clicking against the floor.

"Watch that tone little missy." She sneered at her.

"Jeanne, you should teach her a lesson!" The one with short black hair chirped. Jeanne looked back with a wicked smile,

"You're right, Naomi." She looked back at Ebony and reached out and grabbed her pure white hair, "You see, we're running low on money, so we were thinking that you should give us some." She said to her face. Ebony scowled and slapped Jeanne's hand away,

"I don't have any money for people like you." She snapped, Jeanne gasped and gripped her 'wounded' hand.

"How dare you! You little emo brat!" She cried out, tears rolling down her cheeks. Ebony rolled her eyes,

"I hope your makeup smears." She muttered as she tried to push past them. The one with brown hair stepped in front of her,

"You need to apologize for hurting Jeanne!" She demanded. Ebony glared at her with her icy cerulean colored eyes.

"Stop being such brats and I might consider it." She said as she tried to walk past her. At the last moment, she stuck out her foot and tripped Ebony. She cried out as she fell to the ground, her book flying out of her hand. She picked herself up and glared at the three girls.

"Good work Sarah." Jeanne said with a smile. Sarah beamed,

"Thank you Jeanne!" She exclaimed. All three of them looked down at her,

"Aww, are you gonna cry?" Jeanne taunted.

"What a big baby." Naomi sneered.

"You should stop trying to look like an old lady; no one thinks white hair is pretty." Sarah sniffed. Jeanne flipped her hair and turned to her friends,

"Our job is done here girls, let's get to class." Ebony sighed and stood up, wiping the dirt off her black clothes. Then, she bent down and picked up her book and continued to class. The bell rang right as she walked into the talking classroom and she let out a sigh as she set her book on the table and sat down in her seat.

"Hey," Ebony's friend, Kayshia, said, "Something wrong?" Ebony shook her head.

"Just tired." She answered.

"Aren't we all?" Kayshia laughed, she pushed back her burgundy hair. "How are you doing on your art project?" She asked.

"It's going pretty well; it's in the drawer right now. What about you? Have you even started your project?"

Kayshia shrunk back in the stool and chuckled nervously. "Kayshia!" Ebony exclaimed, "We're starting a new project this week!"

"I can't help it! I procrastinate so freakin' much." Kayshia sighed, "I really need to start working on that though…"

Ebony rolled her eyes and shook her head with a slight smile, "You're such a dork."

"You still love me." Kayshia pointed out,

"Tis true…"

"Ebony Witmann?" She heard Mr. Jackson call out,

"Present!" Ebony responded. Mr. Jackson finished taking roll and stood up to walk around the class, "I should probably pull out my project." She threw a look over at Kayshia, "And you should start yours." Kayshia waved her away,

"Yeah, yeah, sure." She laughed. Ebony walked over to her drawer and pulled it open when she felt a chill run down her spine. She shivered and looked over her shoulder to see nothing was there. She pulled out her painting and walked back over to her seat.

"Is it just me or is it cold in here?" She asked Kayshia. Kayshia turned her milk chocolate eyes to her and shook her head,

"No, I think it's actually pretty warm." Ebony furrowed her eyebrows. "Why is something wrong?" Ebony shook her head,

"Nothing, I felt cold, that's all."

"You're not getting sick, are you?" Kayshia asked, trying to touch her forehead. Ebony sighed and pushed away her hand,

"I'm fine, Kayshia." She told her with a smile.

"Kayshia, where's your project?" They turned around to see Mr. Jackson looking over their shoulders.

"I left it at home." Kayshia told him. Mr. Jackson raised one blond eyebrow,

"You don't say? Like the other times before?" Kayshia nodded. Mr. Jackson patted a calloused hand against her back, "You better start that project soon if you want to keep your grade up Kayshia." Kayshia slumped forward as he left,

"Looks like that won't work on him anymore." Ebony laughed, "He knows you too well." Kayshia's head fell on the table as a groan left her.

"Freakin A… I don't even know what to do for the project." She mumbled,

"You'll come up with something, you always do." Ebony reassured her. Kayshia turned her face on the table.

"Thanks." She said to her with a smile. Ebony nodded her head and looked out of the large windows in front of her.

"Pretty nasty weather, huh?" Ebony slightly jumped and glanced over to see Zack standing next to her with a wide smile, his cobalt blue eyes sparkling.

"Don't do that." She scolded him. Zack laughed as he ran his hand through his black hair.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." He apologized with a smirk. Ebony felt her cheeks grow warm.

"It's fine," Ebony looked back out the window, "It is pretty ugly today." She said quietly as she stared at the black clouds rolling in.

"Do you think it'll rain?" Kayshia asked,

"I don't know, maybe." Zack responded.

"Aww, I don't want my hair to go all curly." Kayshia pouted.

"Why would it go curly?" Zack asked.

"Her hair is naturally curly." Ebony explained.

"Oh."

"Yeah, I hate it. I love the rain though." Kayshia told him. They continued to talk about the weather but Ebony didn't hear them; she was off in her own little world now.

It had been two years since she woke up from a coma. She couldn't remember anything about her past life. Her mother was with her when she awoke; she had to explain to her who she was because she couldn't remember her own mother. A few months after they had moved into town, she had gotten in a terrible car crash with a semi, 911 had been called, and she was rushed to the hospital. She had died twice on the way, when she was once again revived the second time, she fell into a coma. The doctors told her mother that it was a miracle that she had survived. Now, she lived alone with her mother and started going to this public school, despite her mothers pleas to go to an expensive boarding school. She tried to remember her past, but it was almost like her amnesia had built a solid steel wall around her memories before the crash. And every time she tried to chip at that steel wall, terrible pain brought her rearing back.

Then she saw it, a black form coming out of the clouds, then disappearing back up into them.

"Hey, Earth to Ebony!" Ebony blinked and looked back at Kayshia.

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad the aliens didn't manage to abduct you." Zack laughed. Ebony rolled her eyes at him,

"Ha ha, I forgot how to laugh." She shook her head. Zack grinned,

"Well, I'm gonna go back and print some references, I'll be back." Ebony watched as he walked away from then when she felt a sharp jab in her ribs.

"Ow! What was that for?" She hissed, she looked over at Kayshia to see her wiggle her eyebrows,

"He's hot isn't he?"

"What are you talking about?" Ebony asked.

"Don't you dare pull stunt on me! You think he's cute and both of us know it! I mean, just look at that whole cute emo look he's got going on, and that taught, controlled body, and that butt..." Ebony smacked her on the arm.

"What the hell Kayshia!" Ebony said, exasperated, "You know I don't want a boyfriend, why do you keep trying?"

"Come on! We're seniors and you haven't even had a first kiss!" Kayshia put a hand on her shoulder,

"Kayshia, stop it. I don't want a boyfriend and that's that."

"Come on Ebony! Please just go out with the guy! It's obvious that he likes you! And that girlfriend he has now is a total slut, she's gonna break his heart! Pleeeeeeeese! Go out with him!" She begged. Ebony looked down at her artwork.

"Shoot, I forgot to get the materials." Ebony said, avoiding Kayshia's gaze. She shrugged off Kayshia's hand as she placed her work down on the table and went back into the "Cave of Wonders" aka, the supply room. She pulled open a drawer of colored pencils and filtered through it searching for the right colors. She suddenly froze when she felt something brush by her. She looked around to see no one in the room. She shook it off continued looking through the colors when the lights flickered out. She let out a groan and straightened up, glaring at the light bulb. "They need to change that light." She grumbled. She went to go walk out of the room when she heard a scraping sound behind her. She spun around, squinting her eyes to see in the dim room.

"Hello?"

Nothing.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to make out the shapes inside the room with the light coming in the door.

_"Ebony..."_

"Who's there?" Ebony demanded, slowly moving towards the sound. There was a soft clink off to her left she turned towards it when something leapt out at her. She screamed as it fell upon her, making her fall back onto a pile of canvases. She felt something cut through her left hand and something cut across her chest.

Dazed, she sat up and shook her head, the light in the room came back on.

"What happened back here?" She looked over at the entrance to see Mr. Jackson with a frown on his face.

"I- the lights went out and I tripped." She stammered.

"You just destroyed over a dozen canvases!" Mr. Jackson's voice started to rise.

"Hey, Mr. Jackson, chill man. It was an accident. That light has been flipping out the past few weeks." She heard Zack say behind Mr. Jackson. He looked back and sighed,

"You're right. I should probably organize the room as well, considering a lot of the things are just kind of left out." Mr. Jackson rubbed his forehead. "Clean this up and get back to work." He turned away and Zack walked in,

"Are you alright?" He asked as he knelt down next to her. Ebony nodded,

"I'm fine." She told him.

"No, you're not." She looked up at him.

"Huh?" Zack reached out and grabbed her left hand,

"Ebony, you're bleeding." He said, holding it up for her to see. Ebony blinked at the continuous stream of blood running out of the wound, down her arm.

"Wow, that looks really deep..." She said mused.

"Come on, I'll take you to the nurse." Zack offered.

"No, I'm fine." Ebony told him.

"Ebony, I'm taking you to the nurse. You might need stitches." Ebony gave up and let Zack help her up and walked out of the supply room, he turned towards the sink and grabbed a large amount of paper towels and pressed it onto the wound. "Keep pressure on it." He instructed. She nodded, pressing down on the paper as Zack went to Mr. Jackson to tell him where they were going to go. They left the room and walked down the quiet hallway. Ebony felt the awkward silence and tried to fill it.

"So... How did your morning go?" She asked glancing over at Zack.

"Eh, slow going." He shrugged. He turned his head towards her, "What about you?"

Ebony looked ahead, "Well, I've certainly had better." She said with a slight chuckle.

"How so?" She heard him ask.

"Well, I tripped in the hall this morning. That's why I was almost late to class." She explained.

"How did you manage that?"

"I don't need to explain."

Zack eyed her skeptically, but decided to drop it. "Ok."

They arrived at the nurse's office and walked in. The nurse, who was dark skinned with black hair, turned her almond eyes towards them.

"Is there something I can help you with?" She asked them.

"Yeah, my friend tripped in the art room and managed to cut her palm open with an X- Acto knife."

"You don't say. Those things can be dangerous." She said as she stood up and walked around the desk. "May I see the injury?" She asked, holding out her hand. Ebony nodded her head and took the paper off and showed it to her. The nurse took her hand gently and her brow furrowed, "When did you say this happened?"

"Not more than 20 minutes ago." Ebony told her.

"And you cut yourself with an X-Acto knife?" She asked incredulously.

"Yes, why? Is there something wrong?"

The nurse looked up, "You're hardly even bleeding."

"What?" Ebony pulled her hand out of the nurse's grasp and stared at her hand open mouthed. Zack looked over her shoulder,

"How's that possible? We both saw it, and there's blood everywhere." Zack pointed out. The nurse shook her head,

"Well, maybe from all the pressure she kept on it, it started knitting back together. Who knows? I'll go get a bandage to prevent it from re-opening or getting infected." She turned and left a bewildered Ebony and Zack by themselves.

"Well, I guess I didn't need to come here." Ebony said, looking up at Zack. Zack took her hand in his, his head bent down.

"That's so weird though, it was bleeding so much." He said quietly.

"Well, at least it healed nicely." Ebony said happily,

Zack let out a soft chuckle, "You're right." He dropped her hand. Ebony looked at the faint scratch and clenched her fist. The nurse came back out with a white bandage. Ebony opened and held out her hand as she wrapped it up.

"Be careful in the art room." She told her. Ebony smiled and nodded, thanking her as they both left.

"So how exactly did you trip in there?" Zack asked, "I know it's messy, but there isn't any stuff on the ground to trip on."

He looked over at a silent Ebony.

_'Should I tell him?'_

_..._

_'No, he would probably think I'm imagining things.'_

"I really did trip, Mr. Jackson left an extension cord lying around and my foot got caught on it." She said lamely.

She heard no response from Zack, "You don't say, you need to be more careful then!" He gave her a playful shove. Ebony sighed,

"Yeah." She mumbled as she absently rubbed at the sore spot on her chest. She gasped loudly when a roar of thunder shook the entire building, the lights flickering off.

"This doesn't look good." She head Zack mutter beside her. Ebony started to tremble and he looked over at her. "Hey, what's wrong Ebony?" There was a flash of lighting quickly followed by the sound of thunder. Ebony whimpered, Zack looked out of the glass walls to their right, "Are you scared of storms?" He asked quietly. He looked back to see Ebony's eyes widen as a flash of lightning lit up her terrified features. Zack reached out towards her. "It's ok Ebony." He said in a soothing voice. The sound of thunder filled the air and Ebony cried out, falling to her knees, her hands over her ears.

"Make it stop, make it stop..." She whimpered. Zack knelt down beside her and pulled her small, trembling frame into his arms.

"It's ok, Ebony. It's not going to hurt us, the storm is outside." He whispered soothingly into her ear. Ebony's shaking lessened, "Come on, let's get back to class." He said, standing up and holding out his hand. She looked up at his hand, uncovering her ears, she took his hand with her uninjured one. She jumped slightly at the sound of thunder and looked outside the window fearfully. "Do you have your music with you?" He asked. She turned and blinked her eyes at him and nodded wordlessly. She grabbed the earbuds around her neck and put them in her ears, taking out her iPod and putting on some rock music. She put it back in her pocket and they walked back to class together. Kayshia looked up as they walked in,

"That took a while." She said to them. She looked over at Ebony, knowing her fear of thunderstorms and saw her ear buds were on. She mouthed, "Are you ok?" Ebony nodded and pulled out an ear bud.

"I'm going to go back in the Cave of Wonders and clean up the mess I made." She told Kayshia.

"I'll help you!" Kayshia said, jumping out of her seat.

"You," Ebony pointed at her, "need to get to work." Kayshia's shoulders slumped.

"Okay..." Zack laughed,

"She has a point, if you want to pass; you need to start working diligently." He said with a grin. Kayshia made as face and sighed,

"You're right." She looked like a rejected puppy, and Ebony couldn't help but sigh as she walked to the back. She placed the ear bud back in her ear as she started to sort things out in the Cave of Wonders.

After that, things went back to normal; the lights came back on later in the day. The storm was still going on, but Ebony would keep one ear bud in her ear to distract her throughout the day. Finally, the last bell rang. She picked up her backpack, turned in her work and walked out into the hall where a crowd of people swallowed her up. She made her way through the crowd and towards the exit.

"Ebony!" Ebony looked over to see Lady shove past people towards her, "Are we still planning on studying today?" She asked. Ebony blinked,

"Oh yeah! You can come over now if you want." She told her as she shouldered her backpack.

Lady nodded, "We should hurry though, if we don't want to get soaked." She said as she jabbed her thumb in the direction of the door. Ebony smiled,

"Agreed." They ran outside to where their motorcycles were parked. Ebony put in her other ear bud, and then she got on her motorcycle and turned it on, Lady did the same, and they sped off in the direction of Ebony's home.

Ebony's mother worked for some sort of high top, fancy government stuff, that despite Ebony's prodding, she's never told her, thus, she was a millionaire. Ebony didn't enjoy the wealthy life, in fact, she was rather disgusted by it, but she knew it was better than nothing. The camera pivoted down to look at them and Ebony looked up at the camera, the gates opened silently and they drove up the long driveway and into the open garage where they parked and got off their bikes.

"Nice to see you two survived another day of school." Ebony's mom said as they walked in, her blue eyes looking them over, "You're soaked!"

"It's nothing mom, just some rain water." Ebony told her.

"Don't want you catching a cold though. Desmond?" She called, a young butler with neat black hair that fell around his face walked in,

"Yes My Lady?" He asked,

"Would you mind grabbing some towel to dry these girls off?" She nodded towards Ebony and Lady. Desmond bowed slightly,

"Of course My Lady." He straightened and turned back around, leaving the kitchen. Her mom sighed and turned to the girls,

"Hello Lady, it's nice to see you." Ebony's mom said with a warm smile, her kind eyes sparking.

"Hi Mrs. Witmann." Lady said happily.

"Well," Ebony clapped her hands together, "let's get crackin'! We need to dominate those books!" She ran into the next room, "Bow down to your master, 10 ton books!" She yelled.

"She'll be out before she knows it." Mrs. Witmann sighed, shaking her head, making her permed blond hair bounce.

"No doubt there." Lady said, rolling her eyes.

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_Soooo... What do you guys think? Oooohh, look at the pretty blue review button... Leave a review and it'll make me a happy girl! :D _


	2. Chapter 2

_Ugh, I saw some mistakes with the chapter and decided to fix them, please forgive me. ._

_**Tango Mango: **I'm glad you liked it! I hope you like this chapter too! *Gives cookies*  
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_**Shadow Artist:** I'm so glad you approve! I can't really remember what I said before though... *covers her face* Don't hurt me! *Throws cookies* TAKE THEM! TAKE ALL OF THEM!  
_

_Enjoy my readers! :D_

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Chapter 2

_"Well," Ebony clapped her hands together, "let's get crackin'! We need to dominate those books!" She ran into the next room," Bow down to your master, 10 ton books!" She yelled._

_"She'll be out before she knows it." Mrs. Witmann sighed, shaking her head, making her permed blonde hair bounce._

_"No doubt there." Lady said, rolling her eyes._

"I thought we were supposed to be dominating these books." Lady sighed as she poked a sleeping Ebony on the head.

"I'm going to solve the problem out of you..." Ebony mumbled.

"Ebony, wake up! You're making no sense!" Lady shook her.

"Your calculus can go blow itself."

"Dear Lord..." Lady slapped her forehead, "Ebony, you're drooling on the textbook." She lied.

"No I'm not, you liar, you can't lie to me... I can tell when people... lie" Ebony sniffled.

"That's it." Lady shoved Ebony out of the chair. She fell to the ground with a loud, 'Thump.'

"What? I'm awake!" Ebony yawned. She sat up. "What time is it?" She asked,

"It's barely even 8." Lady told her. Ebony groaned,

"I'm gonna go grab a snack." She told Lady as she got to her feet and shuffled towards the kitchen.

"Didn't we just have dinner?" Lady called after her.

"I'm still hungry." Ebony said, stifling a yawn.

Lady smiled, "She definitely loves to sleep, and she can virtually sleep anywhere she wants." She chuckled. "Almost like Dante." Lady looked out of the large window to her left. "Dante... I wonder how he's doing." Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a string of swear word flow out of the kitchen. "Ebony?" Lady got out of her chair and into the kitchen to see Ebony standing next to the counter, looking down at the ground. "What's wrong?" She asked quickly, scanning the area. She head Ebony sniffle and Lady slowly turned towards her,

"My strawberries..." Lady followed her gaze down to the carton of strawberries that had crashed on the ground. Lady sighed,

"This is the reason you swore?" Ebony pouted,

"Come on, Lady, you know about my ardent love for strawberries." Ebony sighed.

"What happened in here Miss?" They both looked up to see two maids enter the kitchen.

"Nothing big, we just need a clean up, I just dropped my strawberries." Ebony told the maid,

"Oh Mistress!" The other cried, they were instantly next to the mess on their knees and were cleaning it up, "We'll get you some more strawberries, don't you worry about a thing!" Ebony sighed,

"No worries you two." She said to them, "I'm just crying over spilled milk." Lady looked at the clock,  
"It's starting to get late, I should be heading home." Ebony looked at her friend.

"Oh! It is getting pretty late." She said as she checked the time. Lady walked over to the door and unlocked it,

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ebony." Lady said with a smile. Ebony nodded,

"Be careful out there Lady!" She waved goodbye as Lady walked into the garage, pushing a button near the door that opened the garage and got on her and drove out. Lady slowed down at the large, black metal gates to wait for it to open. The moment she rode out, she saw the shadows shift around her. She screeched to a stop, leaning back on her bike as a scythe brushed in front of her face, barely missing her nose,

"Damn demons, what are you bastards doing here?" She snarled as she reached down and pulled out a gun that was hidden in a compartment on the side if her bike. She lifted up her weapon to shoot at the demon when she felt a scaly hand grasp her wrist. Lady's face twisted in disgust, "Let go of me!" She yelled. She pulled out another gun and shot through the demons wrist, she then shot at the demon in front of her, its shriek filling the air. Lady quickly holstered her gun, gripping the handle of the motorcycle and shot forward, turning the motorcycle, she gassed the engine, her front wheel rearing up as the collided into the first devil, blood painted the pavement as she ran over it, and then she hit the brakes, the tires screeching on the pavement. She got off of her motorcycle, taking the two guns with her, her fingers pulled the triggers into the multiple other demons,

_"EBONYYYYY!"_ A couple cried. Lady scowled. She flipped into the air as a demon leapt at her, in mid-air; she opened fire upon its skull. She then felt something crash into her before she landed on the ground; they flew through the air and hit the road together. Lady looked up into the acid green eyes of the demon,

_"You're not Ebony..."_

"Sorry to disappoint you," She sneered as she pulled out a grenade from her belt and shoved it into the demons mouth yanking the pin in the process. She put her feet against its abdomen and shoved it away, flipping on her hands, she grabbed the fun she had let go of, then into her feet as the demon exploded. She then aimed her guns at the last three demons,

_"We're not after her."_ One of them said,

_"We kill her anyways, she looks delicious."_ Another said,

_"No, he told us not to kill anyone."_ The third said,

_"She's just one human, no one will notice."_

"Oh no you won't." Lady growled, she let out a volley of bullets at the demons, but they had already melted into the shadows.

_"We will catch the girl, for that is what he has commanded we do..."_ The shadows whispered. Lady scowled as she dropped her arms and looked up at the metal gates to Ebony's home.

'They knew you by name.' She thought, 'They went as far as to wait by your gates and they don't seem like the typical dumb demons, so why didn't they just go in? Why do they want you?' Lady sighed as she walked over to her motorcycle and picked it off of the ground, putting the guns back in their compartments. She grumbled incoherently about talking to herself as she mounted her motorcycle and sped away from Ebony's home.

"Now what do you want?" Was the first thing Lady heard from Dante's mouth when she walked into the agency. "I thought you weren't going to come around because of studying."

"First of all, you never paid me, so I can come hound your ass as much as I want now, and secondly, I didn't come here to hound your ass." Dante scratched his head,

"Then why the hell are you here? I closed at nine." He told her. Lady sighed,

"Look, I just need to ask you some questions." She sat down on his couch, trying to find a comfortable position,

"Why don't you just go to that nerd place?" Dante asked, leaning back in his chair, "Read some books, ya know… all that boring stuff." Lady gritted her teeth,

"The library is closed right now you idiot, and I need answers, fast." Dante raised an eyebrow, he leaned forward and lay an arm across his desk, his other pointing at Lady,

"YOU, need help," He pointed at himself, "from ME?"

"Yes, yes," She said in an irritated tone, "I know, not your everyday thing. But this is important."

"Hold on, let me just suck in the glory, Lady, coming to ME for answers." Dante said arrogantly, putting his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his seat once more.

"Dante! This is serious! Ebony's in danger!"

Dante's grin faltered, "Who's in danger?"

"My friend, Ebony." Lady went to stand by the window and gazed out, "When I left her house, there were demons waiting right outside her gates."  
"What does this have to do with me?"

"Dante, I swear..." Lady growled in frustration, glaring at the half-devil.

"Why didn't they just go in and kill her?" Dante inquired.

Lady face became thoughtful, "Good question... I never realized that, they just sat on the other side of the gate, waiting."

"Definitely doesn't seem demonly." Dante scoffed, "If I were a demon, I would've just barged in, killed people, ya know, the whole demon routine."

"Dante?" Dante stopped and looked at Lady, "How serious is it when a demon is targeting one, and only one person? They don't kill anyone, and they want their target, alive?"

Dante's eyebrows furrowed, "What the hell are you talking about Lady?"

"It's extremely serious, isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"My friend, she's their target. They called her by name." Lady shook her head, "I need your help Dante."

"I won't be getting paid for this, will I?" Dante sighed.

"No, but you will have my eternal gratitude." Lady stated, folding her arms.

"Hah! That's a good one! No, seriously, Lady, I need something. I don't run a charity here. I need a way to pay the water bill." Dante stood up, "I know! How about, if I help you, then you don't bug me for the rest of my life for MY money."

"How about the rest of this year?" Lady counter-offered as she leaned against the wall.

"Well, sounds good to me. That's if you keep that promise." Dante's icy gaze steadily watched her,

"Fine." Dante's eyes lit up as he grinned and he clapped his hands together,

"Well then, let's get down to business." He picked up the phone and dialed a number,

"What are you doing?" Lady asked. Dante looked up at her,

"What do you think I'm doing? If you think I'm just going to sit here and hear you babble on, I'm going to fall asleep. I need something to do to stay awake. In this case, I'm gonna need some pizza."

"I can't believe you." Lady shook her head and folded her arms as she waited for Dante to get off the phone. When he did, she walked over to his desk,

"So how long have you known this chick?" Dante asked her.

"Almost three years." Lady said thoughtfully,

"And you never noticed the demons before?"

Lady shook her head, "No, never." She stated. Dante nodded his head,

"Well, what do you want me to do?" He asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"I want you to keep an eye on her."

"I'm not a babysitter Lady." Dante said bluntly.

"I'm not asking you to follow her everywhere. I just want you to stay around her home at night." Lady told him.

"You want me to stalk your friend? Damn, in any other case, I would be flipping for joy." Dante chuckled.

"No, I just want you to stay outside of the perimeter and maintain an eye out for demons. Try to figure out why they won't go in and why they're after her." Lady explained.

"Aw damn, that's no fun." Dante shook his head, "What about during the day?" Dante asked.

"Don't worry about that, because of upcoming exams, we're probably going to be studying every single day." She told him. She reached out to a crumpled napkin on his desk and smoothed it out with her hands. She then picked up a pen he had lying around and scribbled on the napkin, frowning when she saw that the pen wasn't working. She threw the pen down with a frustrated groan, "Come on, Dante. What's the point in keeping a pen if it doesn't even work?" Her eye twitched in irritation. Dante pulled open a drawer and pulled out a pen and slid it over to her,

"Damn, cool your jets Lady. I have more pens." He sighed.

Lady grumbled as she took the pen started scribbling something down on the paper.

Dante craned his neck from where he was sitting to try to see what Lady was writing down.

"What's that?" He asked. Lady set down the pen and handed him the napkin.

"It's my friend's address. I want you to check it out sometime, just be careful that neither the cameras or guards find you sneaking about."

"Who the hell is this girl? The Queen of England?" Dante groaned as he raised an eyebrow at the paper.

"Hey, it'll be fun for you, and you're good at sneaking around. Aren't you?" Lady turned and started walking towards the door.

"Hey! You're not staying for some pizza?" Dante asked.

"No, I don't want to intrude on your intimate relationship." Lady called back.

"There's nothing wrong with a three-way!" Dante called after her.

Lady stopped, her hand on the door handle, "You're disgusting Dante." She told him before she pulled open the squeaky metal door and walked out.

**~The Next Day~**

Ebony took off her fencing helmet, putting it under her right arm and shook the hand of the fencer before her with her left.

"Man, I swear you keep gettin' better every day." The blonde man said to her. Ebony smiled at him as they let go of each other's hands,

"Why thank you Jake, you aren't too shabby yourself. You almost had me on those last few rounds. You should start going to competitions."

Jake beamed, "You really think so?"

Ebony nodded, "I know so."

"Thanks Ebony!" Jake said, his eyes shining. Ebony nodded as she turned around and un-hooked herself from the tally machine,

"Nice bout, Ebony." Ebony turned to look at her fencing teacher,

"Thanks Mr. Harron." She said as she walked out of the room to go change into her normal clothes. She went into the changing room and opened her locker, pulling out her fencing bag and placed it on the bench. She opened it up, putting in her epee and helmet, then proceeding to pull out her clothes and changed out of her fencing gear. Once she had finished up, she hauled her bag back into the locker and slung her backpack onto her shoulders right as the bell rang and she left the class.

She was practically assaulted by the chattering students in the hallway; she didn't even try to fight them. Practically letting them carry her down the hallway until she reached the spacious center of the school. There she greeted some friends, waved to Kayshia who waved back to her before being grabbed by her boyfriend, Jason. His chocolate brown eyes gave a scrutinizing glare at Ebony. Ebony shook it off before glancing around, managing to catch a glimpse of Lady and pushed through the crowd to get to her. She called to her, frowning when she didn't respond. When she got close enough, she gently put her hand on her shoulder,

"Hey you, are you going deaf?" She asked her. Lady turned to Ebony,

"Oh, hey Ebony, sorry, I didn't hear you."

Ebony looked Lady over. She had dark circles around her eyes and her hair was slightly messy,

"Did you even get any sleep last night Lady?" She asked her.

Lady stretched and yawned.

"Not a wink." She said.

"Why not? Did you stay up studying without me?" Ebony said as she rolled her eyes.

Lady chuckled lightly but fell silent and stared at the ground.

"Ebony,"

Ebony glanced over at Lady, "Hmm?"

"Do you ever feel watched?" She asked her. Ebony's elegant white eyebrow arched.

"Is someone stalking me or something? I swear, if it's Ben again..."

Lady shook her head, "That's not what I meant." Ebony frowned,

"Then what?"

Lady stayed silent. Ebony cocked her head waiting for a response.

"I mean, like a supernatural feeling of being watched." Lady said quietly.

Ebony blinked, her mouth slightly opening,

"Uhh... Well..." She looked around, "There's too many people. Do you want to come to Fredi's? I'm long overdue for a strawberry sundae."

Lady shook her head with a tired smile, "You and your strawberry sundaes."

The bell jingled as Ebony pushed open the door. She waved at both Fredi and Cindy, Fredi gave her a warm smile and nodded her way, Cindy beamed and waved back at her.

"Fredi, can I get the usual?" Ebony asked,

"Do you have to ask?" Fredi laughed heartily, "Of course my dear!" He turned away from them and Ebony walked to the end of the restaurant to sit in the booth at the corner right next to the window. They both sat down and Cindy came along on her roller skates, braking skillfully near the table,

"Strawberry sundae with extra berries, enjoy, Ebony!" She said with a radiant smile. Ebony thanked her, Cindy speed away to help other costumers. Ebony picked up her spoon and scooped off a glob of whipped cream and strawberries, and then she looked up at Lady.

"You're not going to get anything?" She asked Lady. Lady shook her head,

"I usually never do." She told her.

"Oh?" her spoon paused at her mouth, "You come here regularly?"

"Kind of."

"And what exactly do you do? Sit at a booth awkwardly since you don't order anything?" Ebony snickered finished bringing the spoon into her mouth.

"No, I talk to Dante about jobs." Lady explained,

"Mm." Ebony nodded slowly.

"Oh yeah." Lady looked at Ebony, "What is it that you couldn't tell me at school?"

Ebony swallowed and gazed steadily at the table.

"Well, you know how I've always been fascinated with the supernatural?" Lady nodded,

"It's probably not the healthiest hobby, but yes, I know."

"Well, things have started to get a little... Well..." Ebony hesitated,

"A little...?" Lady urged,

"Strange." Lady's eyebrows furrowed,

"What exactly do you mean by that?" She examined her friend, the vacant expression in her eyes, the annoying, constant bounce of her right leg, her fingers fiddling with the spoon.

"Voices. I hear voices, calling my name. Sometimes I see shadows out of the corner of my eyes. Also, yesterday, something attacked me in the art supply room."

"Something attacked you?" Lady's eyes widened slightly. Ebony nodded,

"Yes, I've noticed small things before, but lately, things have gotten worse. Last night I after you left, I thought I had heard screaming." Ebony looked up into the heterochromic eyes, "I don't want to leave my home, but I also don't want to be in it either." She glanced back down at the sundae and started eating it again. After a few bites she sighed, "I'm trying not to let it get to me though. I probably just have to lay off of the horror books about ghosts, demons... etcetera."

"I have an inquiry." Lady said carefully, staring at her friend, "Do you believe? Do you think that they're real?"

"Oh, I know they're real." Ebony scoffed. Lady was slightly taken aback.

"Really?" She asked incredulously.

Ebony nodded, she opened her mouth and was about to say something when the bell tinkled and a voice called out.

"Hey Lady! I saw you through the window and came in to tell you that there are definitely wards around the hou—"

Lady practically slammed her face into the table, but restrained herself and instead turned stiffly to look up at the red-clad devil standing over the table, staring at Ebony.

"Dante." Lady forced out through gritted teeth, "How nice to see you here."

Dante looked over at Lady, "Why the hell are you acting so nice?" He asked as he sat down next to her, "I just came to tell you that the house has wards around it." Lady's eye twitched.

"Dante, this isn't the time or place for that." She hissed

"Umm... May I ask who this is?" Ebony looked between Lady and the strange man who had sat down next to her. He was wearing a black long sleeve shirt with a red vest buckled over it, with a crimson red overcoat over his attire.

"I'm Dante." He said with a toothy grin, "And you must be Ebony."

Ebony's eyebrows furrowed, "How do you know my name?" She asked hesitantly,

"Uhh…" Dante cleared his throat, "Lady here has told me about you." He said as he nudged a stiff Lady. Ebony glanced at Lady,

"I can't say the same about you." She said, holding out her hand. She felt the worn leather of his glove press against her hand, his long, strong fingers curling around hers in a controlled, strong grip. "It's nice to meet you." She said with a smile.

"It's nice to actually meet one of Lady's friends. It doesn't happen often" Dante said with a smirk as he let go of Ebony's hand. She drew back and looked at Lady's red face, "Uhh, are you her boyfriend?" She asked, looking back at Dante. Dante's Cheshire grin grew,

"How did you guess?" He laughed as he wrapped his arms around Lady, who protested rather loudly before punching him in the face. Dante pulled away, his gloved hand rubbing his cheek, "Hey! No need to get feisty!" Dante laughed.

Lady's face went even redder, whether if she was blushing or angry, Ebony couldn't tell.

"You idiot!" She hissed through her teeth. She turned to Ebony, "He's my business partner that I've vaguely mentioned. The one I said owed me money." She explained to her.

"Oh! Him!" Ebony smiled, "It's nice to put a face to the stories. You should probably pay her back before she beats you up." She suggested. Dante smirked,

"Luckily for me, we struck up a deal. I help her out and I don't have to pay her for the rest of the year." Ebony nodded her head before continuing to eat her sundae. Dante cocked his head at her, "You have good taste." Ebony looked up at him with a full mouth and blinked. She swallowed quickly,

"You mean this?" She chuckled, looking down at the strawberry sundae in front of her, "I've always loved strawberries, ever since I can remember so when I discovered this quaint restaurant with the amazing strawberry sundaes, I instantly fell in love. I always try to indulge myself." She said as she smiled down at the sundae.

"You don't say..." Dante's expression became vacant, but he was brought back with a sharp jab to the ribs.

"Don't you dare try anything with her," Lady growled in a low voice. Dante chuckled,

"I was just trying to get to know a nice, beautiful young girl named Ebony." He said as he motioned to Ebony.

"Uhh..."

"I swear, if you even start getting any ideas, or I see that perverted glimmer in your eyes, I'm gonna wring you neck." Lady threatened. Ebony's confused stare became even more bewildered,

"She likes to joke around a lot." Dante said with a grin towards Ebony. Lady shook her head and wagged a finger in front of his nose,

"I'm serious Dante. If even one little perverted idea crosses your mind, I will personally slaughter you."

Dante rolled his eyes, "I won't. Scouts honor." He said as he held up two fingers. Lady glared at him, "What?"

"You're not even a Boy Scout. By the way, it's three fingers, not two." She grumbled,

"Psh, how would you know? You're not a Boy Scout." Dante scoffed, dropping his hand, "It was close enough, and it doesn't mean I can't keep a promise." Dante retorted.

Lady suddenly felt Dante stiffen next to her,

"What's wrong, cat got your tongue?" She snickered.

"Lady." Lady looked up at Dante to see him giving her a serious look. Lady's eyes widened slightly.

"You have got to be joking." She breathed her mouth slightly agape.

"Should I even ask?" Ebony interjected, putting her spoon in the empty tulip glass. Dante grinned, but it didn't reach his eyes,

"Since you ask, I was wondering if you gals would like to go to my place." Ebony raised an eyebrow and glanced at her friend,

"I can't say much, since I don't really know you. So this is probably your call, Lady." Lady nodded her head,

"Yeah, let's go." Dante stood up, Lady getting out behind him. Ebony stared up at them confused,

"What made you change your mind so quickly? One moment you're threatening to kill him, the next you're lunging at the opportunity to go to his place?" Ebony stood up shaking her head, "I think I'm going to start getting a migraine." She complained. Dante felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle when the bell jingled. He glanced over to see a handsome man dressed in black Victorian clothes enter the restaurant. His black hair falling over one eye,

"Come on." He urged. The man's gaze landed on both Ebony and Dante, instantly narrowing. Dante swore. Lady followed his gaze,

"That's him?" She whispered to him. Dante nodded stiffly.

"What's going on?" Ebony whispered to Lady.

"Don't worry about it," She responded, giving the man a wary look. Dante led the way to the door with the two women following closely behind. The well-dressed man stood before Dante, he was slightly smaller by maybe an inch or two.

"It's been too long, Dante."

Dante looked down at him and sighed, "Look pal, I don't know you, and we're not looking for any problems. I don't want to start a fight that would end up in destroying this restaurant. I like it too much, so let's just step outside." The man glared at him, but silently stood aside to let them pass. Lady gripped Ebony's arm and they walked out of the restaurant. The man then glanced at Ebony, his eyes were almost black, and his presence was foreboding which caused Ebony to shiver slightly.

"I am looking to speak with the woman." He said sourly. Dante quirked an eyebrow in question,

"You want to speak to Lady?" The man shook his head,

"Let me rephrase, I wish to speak to Ebony." He then strode over to her; Lady stepped in front of the man,

"Look here, I don't know who you are, but I'm not going to let you hurt Ebony." He looked down on her, a flicker of amusement passed through his black eyes, but his face remained expressionless.

"Step aside, human. I have no intention of harming her. At least not yet, I have orders to speak to her. My revenge can wait." Lady glared at him.

"And you think I'm going to just believe that?" She snapped.

"Unlike your kind, we do not lie." Lady bared her teeth at him. She then felt Ebony's hand on her shoulder,

"He seems to be telling the truth." She whispered to her. Lady gritted her teeth, but slowly stepped off to Ebony's right side.

"Wise move." He told her. Ebony slightly stepped back as the man in black stood before her. His eyes stared into her cerulean orbs.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" She asked in a small voice. His lip raised in distaste,

"Your pathetic human friend knows too much. Tell her to stop what she is doing instantly, or there will be punishment on her part." He growled. Ebony blinked,

"What friend? What are they doing? What are you even talking about?" She asked.

"The one that goes by the name Kayshia. If she continues what she is doing now, we shall have to step in." He grinned eerily, "You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Ebony blanched.

"W-what are you even talking about?" She stammered. The man slightly leaned his head to one side,

"I believe she has told you about it, and you help her with her studies of the supernatural."

"Yeah, but it's frivolous. To her at least." She told him. The man sneered,

"Liar." He spun sharply on his heel and looked back at her, "I give you until this time tomorrow to get her to stop the useless search for a cure. See fit that she forgets it all before I come back."

"Wait! Who are you? Why can't you just tell her yourself? I mean, she's done nothing wrong, why don't you just threaten me and keep her out of this!?" She called after him, making a move to chase after him. Dante raised his arm in front of her to stop her.

"You'll lose him before you even start chasing him." Ebony looked up at Dante, his face twisted into a scowl. She them looked back to see that the man had disappeared.

"Dante, did you know him?" Dante turned to Lady and shook his head, dropping his hand.

"I've never met him before in my life." He answered.

"He seemed to know both of you though..." Lady said thoughtfully. She looked over at Ebony, "Ebony, what was he talking about? What did he mean when he said that Kayshia knows too much?" Lady asked her. Ebony looked down at the concrete ground.

"I-I don't know... I mean... She had been asking a ton of questions about demon possession a few weeks back, so she came to me for answers." She told her,

"Why would she do that?" Lady questioned.

Ebony shrugged, "I just thought that she was curious. So I would tell her stuff and help her out with her research, I've hardly hung out with her after school for the past few weeks. But it's not as though I can brainwash her or something."

Lady and Dante shared a look,

"Well, I'm sorry that this little meet and greet was interrupted." Dante sighed, "But I think it might be time for us to pay her a little visit to see what she's up to." Dante said to her. Ebony bit her lip and nodded her head before looking up at the sky,

_'Oh Kayshia, what have you done now?'_

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_Weeeeeee! Please review? It would make me very happy and I'll give you some pie if you want some! Come on! You know you wanna! :3_


	3. Chapter 3

_WEEEE! I finally managed to find some time to write my new chapter! :D Too much homework and crap, why did I take so many honors/AP classes . Dumbest idea ever. I'm so glad that people are enjoying my story, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! ^_^_

_**Amon Delacroix:** I'm glad that you enjoy the small trickles of plot:) And I really like your devil name XD thankfully, all of my friends are ok, and finally out of the hospital, although the driver still has some difficulties speaking :/ But anyways, thank you for reviewing! *Gives cookies*  
_

_**Cereza101:** I'm so happy that you're intrigued by my story! I hope you like this new chapter! XD Thank you for reviewing! *Gives cookies*  
_

_So without further ado, here's the next chapter! Please review/follow/favorite and I will give you cookies! :D Have a great day you guys!_

* * *

Chapter Three

_Whispering voices filled the air, causing her to look up from the dank corner she was sitting in. She looked through the iron bars of the prison door only to see nothing there. She managed to get to her feet and walked over to the door, her hands wrapping around the cold metal of the bars as she looked out._

"_What's going on?" She asked out loud,_

"_They're saying that Dante and Ebony have found each other," Came the blunt reply._

_Her brows furrowed,_

"_Dante and Ebony? What does that mean? Is something bad going to happen?" She asked. The slight shuffling of fabric reached her ears as if the guard was hesitating before she saw him turn to glare at her._

"_Silence, whore. I do not have to answer to you." His cold voice snarled. She winced at his glare and shrunk back, muttering a quiet sorry. The guard turned away from the cell door, his gaze thoughtful._

**OooOooO**_  
_

The three arrived at Kayshia's house, after a fight that Dante had with Lady to try to let him drive her motorcycle with her behind him. It had proved difficult, but after much kicking and screaming, Lady finally gave in.

"So who is this Kayshia?" Dante asked,

Dante and Lady watched as Ebony walked up the steps to Kayshia's house and she rang the doorbell, followed by a loud knock.

"She's a friend of ours." Lady said, "Well, more of a friend to Ebony," She corrected, "but we hang out together at times."

Dante nodded his head and was about to say something when the door swung inward.

"EBONY!" Kayshia tackled Ebony on the spot, making her stumble back slightly. She pulled away and waved to Lady, she gave a slight wave, "What are you doing here?" Kayshia asked as she dropped her hand.

"Kayshia, we need to talk." Ebony said in a low voice.

"You need to talk to me? About what?" Kayshia asked,

"Not out here." She told her. Kayshia's eyes widened,

"Oh! Of course, come in!" She stepped off to the side and motioned into her house. Ebony nodded her head and walked in, followed by Dante and Lady.

"Nice house..." Dante murmured as he turned his gaze up to look at the high ceiling decorated with intricate designs, the pristine white walls shone brightly and the vases were polished to perfection.

"Try not to break anything." Lady warned him. Dante rolled his eyes,

"Please, like I would do such a thing." He scoffed.

"Knowing your record with jobs involving rich people in nice houses… I'm a little worried." Lady said with a frown.

"She hasn't gotten on my nerves yet, so it's all good." He said with a smirk,

"I'm sorry; I don't think I ever caught your name?" Kayshia looked at Dante,

"This is Dante," Lady introduced him.

"I'm not mute, Lady." Dante groaned, "My name is Dante." He said with a radiant smile. Kayshia giggled,

"It's nice to meet you Dante, I'm Kayshia."

Ebony rolled her eyes, "Kayshia." She said in a monotone voice.

"Oh! Right!" She looked around, "My Dad's working upstairs, so we could probably go into the piano room, it's the best room we've got where we can get some privacy."

Kayshia led them though the house to a large mahogany door, she pushed it open and led them in, "Make yourselves comfortable." She waved to the sofas positioned around the grand piano in the center of the room.

"Thanks Kayshia." Ebony said with a slight smile as she sat down in the armchair next to the piano, the she usually sat in when she came to the house.

"Uh, so what's going on?" Kayshia sat down slowly on the piano bench and let her fingers glide over the ivory keys.

"It's about something you've done." Ebony said to her. Kayshia looked at her and blinked,

"I've done a lot of things, Ebony. You might have to narrow it down a bit." She laughed.

"Something that happened recently. Why were you asking information from Ebony about possessions?" Lady asked as she leaned forward. Dante crossed his legs and leaned back in the comfortable sofa as he watched the three girls.

A soft note filled the air as Kayshia tapped a key, "Why not? She knows a bunch about a subject that not a lot of other people know about it. I was just curious."

"We know that that's not the case, Kayshia. You did something with that information." Ebony said bluntly. Kayshia looked at Ebony.

"It's nothing. I just wanted to know, nothing else." She bowed her head, her fringe shadowing her face. Ebony scooted forward in her seat,

"Kayshia, do you want to talk in private about this?" She whispered. Kayshia looked up at her and gave a small nod. Ebony smiled and looked over at Lady and Dante, "Can you two leave for a moment? I'll be out in a couple of minutes." She requested. Lady nodded and stood up, nudging Dante in the process. Dante sighed, but followed Lady's example and they left the room.

"I wonder what Kayshia is hiding that's so personal." Lady mused. Dante glanced down at her,

"Women, they always want to be in on the latest gossip." He said with a smirk. Lady glared at him and Dante chuckled, "You know it's true." He pointed out. Lady shook her head,

"I'm going to get a drink." She muttered as she walked towards the kitchen. Dante leaned against the wall next to the door of the piano room with his hands in his pockets.

Lady came back with two glasses of water in her hand and held one out to Dante. He raised an eyebrow at the offered glass,

"I didn't ask for any." He stated,

"You looked thirsty." Lady grumbled. Dante grinned and took the glass,

"Thanks, Lady." He said as he brought the cup to his lips.

"So, what do you think of her?" She asked as she took a sip of the water. Dante brought the glass down,

"Who?"

Lady rolled her eyes, "I'm talking about Ebony, dimwit."

"Ah." Dante swirled the water in his glass, "She's an interesting one. I'll admit that much."

Lady eyed Dante; Dante looked down at her, "What?"

"It's just weird; I'm not used to you not flirting with a cute girl, considering the fact that you flirt with everything that moves."

"Hey! I don't flirt with every girl!" Dante protested. Lady threw him an incredulous glance,

"Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night, Dante."

"I didn't flirt with Ebony!" Dante pointed out,

"Yeah, but you flirted with Kayshia the instant you spoke with her, and you don't even know her!" Lady shook her head.

Dante grinned as he leaned forward until he was nose-to-nose with Lady, "You jealous?" He breathed, his warm breath fanning over Lady's face. She abruptly turned away, but not before Dante saw her cheeks gain a rosy tint,

"Why the hell would I be jealous? You're a pervert!" She took another gulp of water before stomping back to the kitchen, grumbling incoherently. Dante watched her with a wide grin when the door beside him opened and pallid Ebony stepped out into the hall.

"Whoa, what's wrong with you?" Dante asked, "You look as though you saw a ghost, or worse, a demon." Dante said with a smirk. Ebony glanced up at him,

"Well, I definitely didn't see one… but, Kayshia just told me something that has to do with demons." She said,

"What did she say?" Lady came back. Kayshia walked out of the piano room and closed the door behind her before turning to look at the trio,

"I think you three should leave." She said quietly. She shared a look with Ebony before proceeding to lead them out of her home, "I'll see you at school, Ebony, Lady." She told them before closing the door behind them.

"What was that all about?" Lady asked.

"Girl problems, that's why I don't get involved with them," Dante muttered while shaking his head. Lady threw him a stern glance and he rolled his eyes, "It's true."

Lady turned to Ebony who started walking towards her motorcycle.

"Ebony? Is everything alright?" She asked hesitantly. Ebony blinked and looked up at her friend,

"Sort of, I'll tell you when we get home." She said with a smile as she swung her leg over the bike and turned it on. Lady nodded turning to her bike to see Dante already on it,

"Hey pretty Lady, wanna ride?" Dante asked with a smirk as he patted the leather-bound space behind him.

"Shut up." She snapped at him, making him grin even wider. She got on her motorcycle behind him and he revved the engine.

When Ebony drove off, he gassed the engine to follow behind her.

After a few minutes, Lady yelled out to him,

"Hey, don't you think Ebony's acting a little strange?" Dante looked ahead to see Ebony's silvery white hair whipping around in the wind.

"Ya, I noticed." Dante called back over the roar of the wind.

"I'm kind of worried." She said.

Dante didn't respond to her, watching Ebony carefully when he saw the approaching Dodge Ram coming from the right

"EBONY!" Lady screamed out, but she didn't hear her over the wind, "Dante! Do something! Save her, she's going to get hit!" She shrieked.

"Lady, take over!" Dante yelled at her as he leapt off the bike. He landed on the road and dashed towards Ebony with tremendous speed. "Damn it." He snarled to himself, he jumped onto the back of her motorcycle and quickly yanked her hand off the gas handle and twisted the brakes as hard as he could, turning the motorcycle as it skid to a stop. Ebony shaken out of her thoughtful trance as the pick-up truck loudly blaring its horn yet zoomed by without even slowing down, only inches away from them.

"What the hell just happened?" She gasped. Looking around

Dante took a deep breath and closed his eyes,

"You were distracted and almost got hit by a car." He told her,

"Ebony! Are you ok?" Lady came up next to them, looking Ebony over, "You didn't get hurt, did you?" She asked quickly.

Ebony shook her head, "No, I didn't. I guess I'm just a little shaken up." She told her. She looked over her shoulder to see Dante looking at her with concern, "Thank you." She said to him. He blinked, the corner of his lip slightly lifting as he gave her his trademark grin.

"Anytime."

Lady studied Dante for a minute before speaking.

"Ebony, would it be too much to ask of you if I told you that you should probably let Dante drive? You seem far too distracted."

Ebony smiled, "I hope he's a better driver than I am." She chuckled,

"Hey! I'm a safe driver!" Dante laughed,

"Is that what you call it?" Lady snickered. She shook her head, "Either way, he's still an amazing driver." She said,

"Then he probably should drive." Ebony agreed.

Lady glanced at Dante, "Is that alright with you?" She asked him. Dante nodded his head.

He got off the motorcycle, helping Ebony off and took her place, gripping the handlebars comfortably. Ebony climbed on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Hold on," He told her as he revved the engine, the motor of the Ducati humming under him. They drove off, with Lady in front and Dante following behind her.

They arrived at Ebony's home; they went through the gates and parked the motorcycles in the garage. When they walked up to the door, it was opened by the family butler, Desmond.

"Welcome back, My Lady." Desmond greeted them with a small bow.

"Hello, Desmond. It's nice to be home again." Desmond straightened and nodded his head. He turned to Lady and Dante and bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"Where's my mom?" Ebony asked him, Desmond looked down at her,

"The Mistress should be home any time now. She had a client that she had to attend to." He explained. Ebony nodded before adding,

"Would it be alright with you if I asked you to leave us alone for now?"

Desmond gave a curt nod before closing the door and walking away, his shoes clicking on the polished stone floors.

Ebony went straight for the refrigerator and opened it, pulling out a bowl of clean and hulled out strawberries. She popped the top open and picked a strawberry, biting into it and looked over at Dante and Lady,

"Do you want some?" She asked, holding out the bowl to them.

"Sure."

"No." Dante and Lady said at the same time. Dante reached out and grabbed one, Ebony then walked into her living room. Dante was about to follow her when Lady grabbed his arm, he looked back at her with a raised eyebrow,

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"That was the first time that I've ever seen you shaken up like that." Lady whispered to him. Dante stared at her, confusion making his eyebrows knit together,

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"When Ebony was about to be hit, I've never seen you so… desperate to save someone. Why is that?"

Dante looked away from her and after Ebony, "She's your friend, and a nice girl. You think I'll just let her get hurt?" He said rather glibly, taking a bite out of the strawberry.

Lady shook her head, "No. It's not just for those reasons."

Dante jerked his arm away from her.

"Don't worry about it, Lady. She's safe isn't she?" He said briskly before following after Ebony.

Lady gazed after him, the wheels in her head turning.

"You coming, Lady?" Dante called over his shoulder. Lady blinked before going into the living room.

"I didn't realize how distracted I was." Lady heard Ebony mumble from the sofa.

"You look disturbed." Lady said to her. Ebony looked up,

"Disturbed?" She sighed and looked back down again, "Yes, I guess that's the correct term for what I'm feeling right now." Ebony closed her eyes and leaned back in the sofa. Dante had already made himself comfortable on the space of the sofa to the left of Ebony. Lady sat down on the opposite end,

"Are you going to tell us what happened?" Lady asked. Ebony grabbed a strawberry from the bowl and plopped the strawberry into her mouth.

"Kayshia told me something about her boyfriend." She took another strawberry and spun it in her fingers, "You know Jason, right?"

Lady nodded slowly, "What about him?" Lady asked carefully.

"Well…" She bit her lip softly, "She told me that he was dying."

"What?" Lady gasped.

Ebony nodded, "And, that in order to save his life, she…" Ebony trailed off.

"What did she do, Ebony?" Dante prodded.

Ebony closed her eyes, "She summoned a demon to help him."

"What!?" Dante and Lady said in unison.

Ebony nodded, "The demon has possessed Jason. And now he won't give him up. Kayshia is trying to find other methods to get rid of the demon, but none of them seem to help."

"It's a goddamn demon! Did she really think it would save his life without a price?" Dante snarled as he shot up from the sofa. Ebony and Lady watched him silently as he angrily paced before them, infuriated sentences spilling out of his mouth.

"Dante…" Lady started, Dante swirled around to meet her stern gaze. "Calm down, getting angry and ranting isn't going to help the situation." She told him. Dante grit his teeth when Ebony offered up the bowl of strawberries to him. He released his anger enough that his tense shoulders relaxed and a smirk appeared on his face as he received the offered strawberries and sat back down next to Ebony.

Lady looked at him, then to her friend, "Did she tell you when she summoned the demon?"

"Yeah, she told me that she summoned the demon two weeks ago."

"That's when he started acting strange…" Lady murmured.

Ebony nodded, "But what about that man we saw at Fredi's?" Ebony asked, lifting her head to look at Lady.

Lady noticed Dante tense up as he glanced out the window.

"I don't know." Lady answered. Dante turned his head towards the door as the click of the undone lock filled the air and the door opened. Ebony looked up,

"Hey, mom." Ebony greeted.

"Good afternoon to you two." She turned to look at Dante who was giving her a scrutinizing gaze. Her eye twitched slightly before smiling warmly, "I'm sorry, I don't believe I know you."

"This is Dante." Ebony told her.

"Nice to meet you Dante, I'm Emily Witmann, Ebony's mother."

Dante's eyes narrowed, "Pleased to make your acquaintance." He said in a low voice. Lady looked back and forth between Dante and Mrs. Witmann,

"Um…" Lady started awkwardly, "Hi there, Mrs. Witmann." Lady greeted, interrupting the awkward glaring/staring contest between Dante and Mrs. Witmann. She looked away towards Lady, a genuine smile on her face,

"Hello, Lady, are you and Ebony studying again?"

Lady smiled, "Yeah, we haven't really gotten to the studying part yet though." She told her.

Mrs. Witmann chuckled softly, "Well, I'll leave you to whatever you're up to."

Ebony's mother left them to go to the second floor, Ebony waited until she heard the thud of the door to her mother's office.

Palpable silence surrounded them as they sat on the sofa awkwardly before Ebony reached over to Dante and grabbed a strawberry from the bowl he was gripping, the glass starting to crack under the pressure

"Err, Dante?" Ebony said hesitantly. Dante glanced over at her, "You're cracking the bowl…"

Dante turned his gaze to the glass bowl in his hands, "So I am." He said in a low voice before releasing the pressure on the poor bowl.

"Well, what do we do now?" Ebony asked quietly, looking towards Lady. Lady stared off into space,

"He told you to make her stop, and to make her forget." Lady said thoughtfully,

"How am I supposed to do that? I can't just make her forget that her boyfriend is dying, and that now he has a demon inside him!" Ebony exclaimed.

"Keep your voice down, we don't want everyone hearing." Lady said in a hushed tone.

Ebony shook her head, and growled before swearing.

"I can't help it!" She said in a forced whisper, "I don't know whether to throttle her, or just…" She growled again before falling back into the sofa with her hands covering her eyes.

Lady watched her worriedly before reaching out and gently toughing her shoulder,

"Come on, let's go on a walk."

**OooOooO**

"Did we have to come back here? I mean, it's getting kind of late to walk and talk." Ebony glanced over at Lady. Her arms were crossed over her chest,

"Ebony. You're going to talk with her and get this over with before she does something worse." She chided.

Ebony sighed and turned to the door before ringing the doorbell.

They waited only a minute or so before the door glided open. Kayshia stood before them with her hair in a messy bun, wearing a tank-top and sweats.

"What are you guys doing back here?" She asked.

Ebony looked down at her feet before looking back up, "Kayshia, can you come with us? We need to talk to you about something." She asked her. Kayshia stared at Ebony,

"Didn't you talk with me earlier? Or is this about something else?" She asked.

"It's about your situation; I need to talk with you more on the subject." Ebony told her. Kayshia closed her eyes before closing the door to her house behind her. Ebony let Kayshia pass and greet Lady and Dante again. Ebony followed her and they walked down the sidewalk together in silence. After a few minutes Ebony spoke up,

"You need to stop this, Kayshia. Stop looking for a solution." She saw Kayshia wince but she kept on walking,

"No, I'm going to save Jason." She declared.

Ebony shook her head, "There isn't a way to save him." She said sadly, "The disease you told me about, there is no cure to it."

Kayshia turned to glare at her, "There must be! I can't just give up hope!" She argued. Ebony stopped and looked at her friend,

"If you leave the demon in him, he might as well already be dead. And if you take out the demon, then Jason dies from the disease. Kayshia, the only thing that's keeping him alive is the demon. It has no desire to save Jason." She said sternly.

"No, that's a lie, the demon told me that it could save Jason, that it would help me save him!"

"Demons always twist the truth. Just like a genie, but thousands of times worse." Dante said behind them.

"You don't know anything about demons. The only one that actually does is Ebony. That's why I went to her, so you stay out of this." She snapped at him.

Lady glanced over at Dante to see him roll his eyes and let out a scoff,

"Whatever. Do as you please."

Kayshia looked back at Ebony, "And how do you know how I feel? You've always been closed off with your feelings, you've never felt love. You don't understand!" Her voice was starting to get louder. Ebony stood and said calmly,

"I am telling you the facts, Kayshia. What Dante said is true; demons take your wishes, and turn it into something found only in your nightmares. I don't know if I've ever lost a loved one, because of the very fact that I cannot remember my past. But yes, I guess you can say that I don't understand. But I do understand that if you go on with this, then people will get hurt." She said sternly, her nails digging into the palm of her hands. "Please, just forget about it. I don't want you to get hurt."

Kayshia shook her head, "No, I'm not going to give up. I'm going to find a way to save him, no matter what." Ebony rubbed her temples,

"Look, you don't understand—"

"Shut up, Ebony. I understand perfectly fine. You want Jason to die, you never liked him anyways. Isn't that right?" She said loudly.

Ebony shook her head, "No, that's not what I'm—"

"You're just jealous of me aren't you?"

Ebony felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She looked around quickly before turning to her friend,

"Kayshia, you're overreacting to what I'm actually trying to tell yo—"

Kayshia held up her hand.

"I don't care, Ebony. I'm going to find out a way to get that demon out, and find a cure."

"Unless you're some sort of super scientist, I doubt that you will find a cure." Dante grumbled. He was starting to get irritated of Ebony's friend.

"It won't stop me from trying." She stated as she started to walk back to her house. That was when Ebony noticed the air next to her friend rippling.

"Kayshia!"

She grabbed her friend by the collar and yanked her back, making her fall over onto the sidewalk. The air shattered as a scythe swung through the air and smashed into the ground where Kayshia had been standing. Kayshia looked up at the Pride demon and screamed.

"Dante!" Ebony looked over to see Dante pull out a pair of guns and aim them at the demon,

"Way ahead of you," Dante called out as he pulled the triggers, turning the demon into a piece of honeycomb before it exploded into dust.

"What the hell was that!?" Kayshia shrieked as she crawled over to Ebony.

"If I'm correct, then that thing was a demon." Ebony looked up at Dante, as he rested on of his guns on his shoulder,

"You couldn't get anymore correct." He said with a grin. His grin faltered slightly, "And there's more coming our way."

"What should we do?" Ebony asked him.

"Don't worry Ebony; you and Kayshia will be fine." Lady told them. Ebony looked over at her best friend,

"Lady?"

Lady pulled out a heavily modified semi-automatic and a micro uzi.

"Don't worry about her, she can handle herself." Dante said with a smirk. Ebony blinked,

"Err… ok." She said without question.

"Go somewhere out of the way. But close enough that we can keep an eye on you." Lady instructed them. Kayshia didn't respond, but Ebony gave a curt nod before she grabbed Kayshia's forearm and pulled her to her feet and walked over to a group of clustered shrubs.

"Stay down and don't move." She told her. Kayshia looked up at her in fear, but nodded her head in understanding.

"Where are you going?" She asked her. Ebony looked back at Lady and Dante.

"I'm going to help them." She told her before running over to them, picking up the scythe of the felled demon. She tested the weight of it in her hands before she took on a defensive stance.

Dante glanced over at Ebony to see a determined gleam in her eye and he grinned,

"You sure you want to help us?" He asked. Ebony nodded her head curtly,

"I know how to fight and defend myself with a sword. This shouldn't be too different." She told him, hefting the scythe.

"Demons don't fight by the rules." Lady warned. Ebony let out a soft scoff,

"And you think my competitors do?"

Lady smiled, "Just call out when you seem to be in a tight spot." She told her. Ebony nodded, her head swiveling to the sound of shattering glass as more demons leapt through. Gunshots from Dante and Lady started filling the air as Ebony counter-attacked a demon before it could take off her head by swinging the scythe in her hands, the glistening edge of it slicing through the demon. It exploded and she spun around to be met by two demons detaching themselves from the shadows of the trees.

"_EBONYYYY!"_

Ebony's eyebrows knit together in confusion, "Wha—" She swung the scythe up as one of the demons leapt at her, catching it in the gut before yanking up and tearing through it completely, its lifeless from flopping to the ground. What she didn't notice was the second demon moving around behind her.

"Look out Ebony!" Dante called out. Ebony spun around as the demon charged at her, but it stopped when Dante rammed it from its side, sending it flying through the air. It twisted in mid-air and landed on its feet gracefully like a cat, growling furiously at him.

"_You're not the one we want, Son of Sparda!"_

"Aw, did I make you angry?" Dante taunted. The demon roared and pushed off, soaring through the air. Dante lifted up the guns and shot multiple rounds into its head. Ebony flinched when an explosion went off to her far right; she glanced over at Lady,

"Was that a grenade!?" She exclaimed.

Lady chuckled nervously, "Maybe."

"I think that might've been a little overkill, Lady." Ebony heard Dante said from behind her.

"Says the one that goes all out and practically starts dancing the tango with the demons." Lady scoffed.

"I haven't done that yet, so don't give me any ideas." Dante said with a smirk.

"Was that all of them?" Ebony asked, glancing around. She looked over to see Kayshia peek out of the bushes to see if it was clear.

"_There will be more…"_ All three of them turned to the dying shadow demon on the ground,

The face of the demon was pinned down by Dante's boot, "What do you mean by that?" Dante growled. A strange sound left the demon; it took a moment for Ebony to realize that the demon was laughing.

"_It means that you, the Son of Sparda, will not be able to protect yo—" _Dante smashed the demons skull before it finished its sentence.

"Damn, I'll probably never get that stain out." Dante muttered to himself as he lifted his foot, the black blood dripping to the ground.

"What was it talking about?" Ebony asked. Dante scrubbed his boot in the grass before looking up at her.

"It's nothing to worry about."

"It knew my name." She reprimanded.

Dante seemed to hesitate slightly before answering, "Demons are funny that way." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What about you? They kept calling you the son of…"

"Like I said, demons are funny that way." Dante interrupted her.

"What does that even mean?" She asked.

"Let's just say that Dante's made his way around." Lady interjected. Ebony's brows drew together,

"So, he's famous?"

"More like infamous." Dante muttered under his breath. Lady glanced at him, then to her befuddled friend,

"I guess you can say that."

"Are they all gone?" A small voice said next to them. Ebony turned to look at Kayshia and nodded,

"I believe so." She turned to Lady and Dante to confirm her thought. Dante nodded,

"Kayshia, we'll walk you home." Lady said to Kayshia. Kayshia nodded her head, her eyes still wide and glancing nervously around her. Ebony noticed the curtains from some of the houses were being pushed aside as curious eyes peeked out.

"We should leave before people see us." Ebony murmured. Lady and Dante agreed silently as they turned towards the direction of Kayshia's house. They were silent on the way to her house. They walked up the steps when Kayshia stopped. Ebony looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I won't be able to forget, Ebony. I need to save him, and you can't stop me from doing so." She declared. Ebony clenched her jaw and nodded,

"I wish I could change your mind." She told her. Kayshia smiled,

"Sorry." She said simply before opening the door and walking in, letting it thud behind her. Ebony stared at the door and sighed,

"Now what?" She asked, turning around to look at the two standing behind her. "And what was that all about anyways?" She asked, pointing down the street where they had been only moments before.

"Who are you two?" She glanced at Lady, "I take it you're not the average high school student?" Lady looked down. Ebony then turned her gaze to look up at Dante, "And you, you definitely aren't the average man."

Dante chuckled, "Nope, I'm not." He responded.

Ebony rubbed her temples, "God, I'm starting to get a migraine." She murmured as she walked past them and down the steps of Kayshia's home. "I think I'm just going to go home, and eat a tub-full of strawberries, shower and then go straight to bed." She continued. Dante turned to look at the back of Ebony's head, her white hair glistening in the light of the lamppost.

"You might as well know that you aren't the average high school student as well." He called after her. Ebony stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned back to him, dropping her hands.

"What?"

Dante shrugged his shoulders, "It's true. You just suddenly decided to jump in and help us kill a handful of demons, and successfully killed two of them without breaking a sweat."

Ebony's eyebrows pinched together, "So? I'm one of the top ranking fencing competitors in the states. I know how to fight." He told him. Dante chuckled,

"Might be true, but even the best human fighters get scared shitless when they confront a demon."

"What are you getting at?" Lady asked him. Dante looked down at Lady,

"It means," He glanced up at Ebony, "That you've encountered and fought demons before."


	4. Chapter 4

_Oh my goodness, I am freezing my butt off right now... yet I'm to lazy to stand up and turn on the heat... or a blanket... . And it's ridiculous how long it's been since I've updated! I feel soooooo soooo bad! D: Thank you those who are so patient with me! School sucks... especially homework, isn't enough that we get 6 hours of school everyday? Evidently not. Buuuuuttt... I still managed to type up a new chapter ;) _

_**Hiden:** If you wanna find out... then keep reading ;) it'll explain everything in the near future! :D And here's that chapter you were waiting for! Thanks for reviewing! *gives cookies*  
_

_**Amon Delacroix:**__Haha, yeaaahh.. Since I'm rarely ever able to update, I decided that making the chapters longer would compensate for that XD And of course I'm giving you more cookies to fatten you up! *whispers* I'm secretly the witch from Hansel and Gretel. ;) Nahhh... I just like giving out cookies, eating them once a month(ish) doesn't hurt!_ _:D Thanks for reviewing! *gives cookies*_

**_NoraOmikami:_**_ Because I like to watch people suffaaaaa! Muahahaha! XD Just kidding, it just makes it all the more interesting and fun. And hope I manage to gain more fans/friends with those little cliffhangers! :) Thank you for reviewing! *gives cookies*_

_**Cereza101: **Hur hur... surprising, was it not? :3 And I shall grant your wish! *waves hands around* POOF! Below that line, will be your wish. I was happy to oblige! Thank you so much for reviewing! *gives cookies*_

_And a big thank you to those who faved, and followed me and/or the story! Well, enough of me talking. Wait, why are you still reading this? GO READ MA CHAPTAAAA! :D And please review, favorite, follow, whatever you little heart desieres, and I hope to see you all when I come up with the next chapter!_

* * *

Chapter Four

A stagnant silence fell between the three before Ebony choked out an awkward laugh, "You're kidding me, right?"

Dante kept a steady gaze on her. Lady grabbed his arm,

"Dante, are you saying that Ebony has experience in killing these things?" She asked. Without taking his eyes away from the girl in front of him, he nodded his head. "And how do you know this?" Lady hissed.

"That's what I want to know as well." Ebony folded her arms and glared down at the ground.

"We've have worked together before." Dante explained. Ebony's eyes snapped up to meet Dante's cool gaze. Her shoulders tensed as she attempted to filter through all her memories to see if she could recall the tall man standing before her.

"You're crazy. I've never seen you before in my life, and I'm pretty sure I would remember someone like you, and doing something like killing those monsters." She scoffed before turning away. "You're insane, I'm going home." She stated.

"I'll come with—" Lady started.

Ebony turned around, "No, I'm going alone. And you," She turned to point at Dante, "I don't ever want to see you again." She growled. Dante flinched, as though the words had stung him before regaining is composure.

Lady looked between Ebony and Dante, "Ebony, it's dangerous out there, the demons—"

Ebony shook her head, "My house is only 10 minutes away. I'll be fine." She told her. She glanced at Dante, "And before I leave, thanks for getting rid of those demons."

Dante nodded once before Ebony turned away and left in the direction of her house. Lady watched Dante's face as it took on an expression of… sadness at the retreating form of Ebony.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Lady asked. "What you were saying, about how Ebony was a hunter—"

"_Is_. She _is_ a hunter." Dante corrected.

"Shut up and let me talk Dante. Is it true though? Was she really a hunter?"

"_Is._" Lady glared at him. Dante didn't acknowledge her glare. Instead, he nodded his head and responded to her question, "Yeah, she is."

"So you knew who she was, and you didn't tell me?" She said censoriously.

"She didn't remember me." Dante wasn't speaking to Lady, but more to himself. Lady heard the disbelief in his voice. He still didn't even so much as glance in her direction

"Oh, yeah! And then there's that, how the hell can she forget something like that?" She asked incredulously, she eyed Dante cautiously as they started walking down the steps.

Dante shook his head in disbelief, "I don't know."

Lady snorted, "Geez, you're like the common stereotype of a douche bag. Dumping girlfriends and never keeping in contact with them. Seriously, how do you live with yourself Dante?" She scolded.

Dante's head snapped up as they both stopped, his face was suddenly only a few inches away from hers, his eyes glinting angrily. But they weren't the eyes of the glib Dante Lady knew. To her, it seemed as though she was staring into the eyes of the elder sibling. "Shut the hell up Lady." His voice rumbled threateningly, "She was and never will be my girlfriend."

Lady shivered under his glare and took a hesitant step back, "Ok then… Don't get so touchy…" Her voice faltered, so she cleared her throat before speaking again, "Why do you care so much about her remembering you then?" She trailed off and averted her gaze to the ground. Dante's shoulders dropped slightly, although they were still rigid, and let out a sigh. He reached out to touch Lady on the shoulder. Lady looked over at him to see his eyes glistening with unreadable emotions.

"It's… difficult to explain." He said quietly. Lady looked down,

"My bike is still over at Ebony's house." She stated quietly.

"I'll walk you home, and I'll give you a ride to school tomorrow." Dante offered as he dropped his hand from her shoulder. She glanced over at Dante appreciatively and he let a mischievous smirk play across his face,

"In return, you spend the night with me."

A slap upside the head was given in response. Dante rubbed the sore spot, the smirk still plastered on his face, "I'm just kidding Lady." He chuckled.

Lady shook her head, "You're such a pervert."

**OooOooO**

Ebony walked down the unfamiliar streets with caution. She noticed that there were more people still shuffling along the streets despite the late hour. Some of them bumped into her and uttered a quiet apology. Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, the streets were free of the usual crowds; how in the world did they still manage to bump into her? She shook it off before looking around the bleak area, the grief-stricken wind whispering along the streets. The people tightened their coats around themselves in an attempt to block out the oncoming fall chill. Everything was unfamiliar; the looming grey buildings around here were ones that she had never seen before. The plaques where the street names used to be were wiped clean, as if the weather had been relentless towards them, and wanted to wash away any evidence of their existence.

"Where am I? How did I manage to get lost when I only live 10 minutes away?" She reprimanded herself. She continued walking along when she noticed the shadows around her seemed to writhe and twist towards the gloomy humans that were desperate to enter the safe, warm havens of their home. Ebony then heard scraping sounds behind her. She stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around to see a strange darkness desperately engulfing the path behind her, making its way towards her. Shadows started rising up from the ground, becoming solid creatures with sunken eyes, their long dagger-like claws clawing desperately into the ground as they dragged themselves out of the shadows. Her eyes widened in terror as she started running down the streets.

"Everyone! Run!" She screamed at the people around her, but no one seemed to listen. She stopped and grabbed a man by the shoulders, "Don't go that way! You need to turn around, you'll get killed!" She said frantically to him. The man gazed blankly at her before pulling away, murmuring an apology as he swept by her. Ebony stood baffled from the man's reaction when she heard an agonizing scream. Ebony risked a moment to glance back to see crimson blood paint the building and sidewalk. She turned back and sprinted away from the famished darkness, it then started attacking the people that walked by her. Their terrified screams filling the cold empty air. Ebony glanced back to see red, so much red, before her foot caught on something and she fell, she cried out as her face scraped against the concrete. She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, twisting around to see the darkness about to descend upon her. She shut her eyes, waiting, when she heard shrieks that belonged to no human. She slowly opened one of her eyes to see a blur of red and shimmering metal as it darted in an out of the darkness. Ebony scooted back and sat up to see black liquid splatter across the pavement. _'Blood.' _She realized. The darkness started to recede slowly as she finally made out the figure that had been fighting against it. A large sword was grasped in his hand, the sunken in eyes of the skull seeming to glow a warm red as the black blood dripped down the gleaming edge. He sheathed his sword as he turned to Ebony. He walked over and held out his hand, which she took, and helped her up.

"I thought I told you to be more careful when around these parts." He chuckled.

"I thought I told you that I didn't want to see you again." Ebony said as she placed her hands on her hips. Dante gave her a crooked grin,

"Ouch, you wound me with your harsh words." He held up his hands against his heart in mock pain. Ebony shook her head,

"You're such an idiot." She muttered. Dante's grin grew wider,

"You're still the same as always." He murmured as he spun on his heel and started walking away. His next words were carried away by the forlorn wind which made it so that Ebony couldn't make out exactly what he said,

"Play… safe… keep… playing…safe—"

...

Ebony's eyes snapped open and she sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes furiously. She glanced over at her alarm clock.

3:30…

Ebony groaned and fell back into her bed,

"Come on…" She whined as she stuffed her head into the pillow. She knew there was no use in trying to go back to sleep. Once she was up, she was up. She let out a groan of frustration and threw off her blankets, swinging her feet out of bed to touch the cold carpet floor. "Can carpets even get this cold?" She grumbled as she fumbled around to slip on her zebra slippers. She took one of the lighter blankets and wrapped it around herself as she stood up and shuffled out of her room, into the bathroom. The first thing she did was look in the mirror, "Dang…" She leaned in closer and tried to run her fingers through her hair, unsuccessfully. She sighed before opening a drawer and pulling out her brush. She then brushed out her hair.

After she finished what she had to do, Ebony walked out of the bathroom feeling somewhat refreshed and went to her closet, picked out an outfit and put it on before creeping down the stairs to get to the kitchen.

Sadly, two maids were already in the kitchen and her mom was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper. "Don't you ever sleep?" She asked as she walked in. The maids turned to look at her with wide eyes,

"Mistress!" They all said simultaneously, Ebony waved her hands before her,

"Shhh!" She hissed, "Don't be so loud! There are probably others still asleep." She whispered. The maids nodded and were about to bow when Ebony stopped them, "And don't do that, you know I don't like feeling superior." She murmured aside. The maids stared at her, looked at each other and then back to Ebony before nodding their heads. Her mother glanced over at her from reading a magazine that had arrived in the mail the day before.

"Whatever you desire Mistress." They said together with a bow. Ebony face palmed, a sigh escaping her lips.

"Forget it." She dropped her hand and walked over to the table and sat down on one of the plush chairs, "Morning mom." Her mother looked over the top of her magazine with an evaluating stare.

"If they wish to bow to you, you should just let them do so." She told her.

"Yeah, yeah. This whole superior thing just bugs me though. I'm just as normal as they are." Ebony responded as she stretched.

Her mother frowned. "And what are you doing up this early?" She asked her daughter.

Ebony let out a yawn before answering.

"Nightmare."

Emily's lip pursed before asking, "What about?"

Ebony shook her head, "Just shadows. I don't really remember much." She lied.

Emily studied her daughter before she folded up her newspaper and set it down. Ebony looked up curiously at her mother, who now sat before her with her hands neatly folded in front of her,

"I need to speak to you about something." She said to Ebony. Ebony brought up her hand to cover her mouth as she yawned again,

"Go ahead. It's not as though I'm going to be falling asleep anytime soon, as much as I want to." She told her, mumbling the last part. Her mom sat forward in her seat,

"I don't want you to talk to Dante again." She said bluntly.

Ebony scoffed, rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair, "It's not as though I was going to anyways."

Her mother raised a blond eyebrow,

"Really?"

Ebony nodded her head, "Some stuff just happened. He started saying that I had met him before and a bunch of crazy crap. Then, I told him to stay away from me." Ebony explained.

Her mother gazed at her thoughtfully, a smile making its way onto her flawless face, "Well. That's good." Her mother stood up, "I have to go to work soon." She stepped around the table and stood next to Ebony before leaning down and kissing her forehead. "Take care driving to school honey."

"Take care, Mom." Ebony said with a smile as her mom left. The sound of the front door opening and thudding closed. Ebony heard the sound of a car waiting outside for her mother, and waited until the sound of the engine faded away. When she was finally alone, Ebony folded her arms across the surface of the table and put her head down in them, as she mulled over the dream she had just had.

'_It seemed so real…' _Ebony let out a slight scoff, _'Except those dumb people, no one was running around, screaming for their lives. Just walk into the eerie darkness. Everything will be juuuust fine.' _She thought sarcastically. Her mouth twisted into a frown, _'What did Dante say at the very end? There were words that sounded cut out…'_ She thought deeply upon this, when she was interrupted.

"Mistress?" Ebony looked up to see one of the maids with a rolling cart, "Breakfast is ready." She said quietly.

"Already?" Ebony asked,

"It is almost 10 to 5 Mistress." The maid explained. Ebony looked over at the large grandfather clock near the entrance of the kitchen, her mouth slightly agape when she saw the face of it read 4:49.

"So it is…" she confirmed quietly as she took her arms off the table to let the maid put the plate on the table before taking the metal lid off. Ebony's nose was assaulted with the smell of delicious crepes filling her plate, strawberries decorating each and every one of them. She picked up her cutlery and started eating the crepes. The maid bowed and left the kitchen. After Ebony finished eating, she decided to go and have a morning motorcycle ride. She got out of her chair, grabbed a black hoodie that hung from the coat rack next to the door and yanked it on over her head. She then grabbed her backpack and pulled it on before she went out into the garage.

"Right… Lady left her motorcycle here." She said as she noticed the red and silver motorcycle parked next to hers. She went down the steps and got on her motorcycle, turned it on and drove out of the garage. She went down the driveway and waited until the large metal gates swung open. She slowly began to pull out when she saw him leaning against a tree, looking up and examining the red and gold leaves. The gold cuff buttons on the crisp sleeves of his Victorian clothes glistened as he reached up and plucked a leaf from the tree, he held it up in front of him by its stem and slowly turned it.

It was man that had spoken to her at Fredi's.

"You…" The man turned his pale face to her, the longest part of his asymmetrical hair brushing over his shoulders, his black fringe shifting slightly to partially reveal an almost black eye.

"Ebony." He said with a curt nod as he let the golden leaf flutter to the ground with the rest.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" Ebony said nervously. He glanced down at her motorcycle and a sickening feeling settled inside her gut as her motorcycle engine sputtered and went silent.

"I would not want you trying to make an escape." The man said with a sly smile. Ebony glared at the beautiful Victorian dressed man standing before her.

"Are you going to answer my question?" She folded her arms across her chest. The man stepped closer to her, making her have to look up at him. His emotionless eyes stared down his nose at her. Ebony repressed the shiver that made her way down her spine.

"You already know why I'm here."

Ebony remained silent.

"And you already know that you failed." He said, "How delightful." He chuckled.

Ebony's eyebrow twitched and she dropped her arms, "You spoke about revenge against me, for what, I know not. What if I told you to forget about that? Would you?"

Silence carried on between them for what felt like hours before he responded.

"I would not." He deadpanned.

"Exactly, you really think that she would forget the fact that her boyfriend is possessed? Or that she would stop searching for a way to save him?" Ebony said rather defiantly, despite the fear he was causing her.

"I told you to make her give up her search. I did not give you an option." The man told her. Ebony shook her head,

"Then _you_ make her forget, because I can't. A demon like you should have the power to do that."

He raised an ebony eyebrow at her.

"You demons give me this really weird feeling. Almost like your presence is pressing into mine, it's hard to explain it exactly though." Ebony answered his silent question.

The man turned to walk away before Ebony stopped him with a question, "Wait, what is your name?" He looked back at her,

"And why is it that now you ask me my name?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Redom."

Ebony blinked in confusion, "Huh?"

"You asked for a name, so I gave it to you." He said, annoyance beginning to lace his tone.

"Well, Redom, if you even so much as lay a finger on Kayshia, I will personally hunt you down and kill you." Ebony threatened him. Redom laughed, the malice in it made Ebony shiver slightly,

"Like you did with my Evaline? Will you, like you did to her, kill me in cold blood?" He sneered.

Ebony's angry demeanor turned into that of bafflement at what Redom had said to her. Her brows came together, "Evaline? Who is that? What are you even talking about?"

Redom turned his head back to look at her with disgust, "You truly do not remember anything, do you?" He asked, almost disbelievingly.

Ebony looked up at him, "Please, tell me," She responded, almost mockingly, "What exactly is it that I'm supposed to remember?" She asked him. The man disregarded her question and turned away,

"I won't harm your human. She may still be of use to me yet. Perhaps you'll know of the crime you committed towards me when you next speak to her." Redom called back to her.

"Hey! Wait! Can't you just answer the question!?" Ebony blinked, and when she opened her eyes, he had disappeared. The engine of her motorcycle roared back to life, startling Ebony. She sighed, gripping the handlebars as she muttered to herself, "Stupid demon." With that, she drove away. Her previous destination of the school had changed.

**OooOooO**

Dante's eyes opened and he stared blankly at the ceiling. Yawning, he turned to glance at the cracked face of the clock that clung to the loose nail on the wall. He chided himself for waking up so early before dropping his feet from his desk, his boots thudding against the ground. He stood up and stretched before walking to the corner of the room and pressing a button on his jukebox.

Nothing happened.

Dante let out an aggravated sigh and scratched his head, glaring at the beat up, repaired more than once, artifact.

"Come on, for once in your life, can you stop being stubborn?" He growled. He pressed the button a little harder this time, and the poor thing flickered to life as the record was slowly switched. The needle was set down on the surface of the record and loud rock music filled the air. Dante grinned in satisfaction before turning away from the jukebox and into the kitchen. He scooped up the pizza box sitting on the counter and opened the lid. "Well hello sexy—" Dante stopped at the entrance of the kitchen when he heard the familiar sound of an oncoming motorcycle. He looked out of the window to see Ebony drive by. He glanced at the clock again to see it read 6:36

"The hell—" He went over to the window and stood near the edge, peeking out as Ebony slowed down her motorcycle to look around. Her eyes landed onto the large flickering neon red lights of the Devil May Cry. Dante watched as Ebony raised an eyebrow.

'_Devil May Cry? Well, that's a dumb name.'_ Dante frowned. Ebony looked away and took a left and drove off. Dante's eyes followed her before he went to put his pizza on the table and went out the doors to follow Ebony.

Dante leapt across the rooftops, always keeping an eye on the motorcycle below him when he noticed it start to slow down. Ebony pulled up next to the sidewalk and stopped, turning off her motorcycle. She swung her leg over the motorcycle and got off before going to stand before a decimated building. Dante's brows furrowed as he watched her stuff her hands into her pockets and a slight shiver course through her body caused by the biting cold of the morning. She climbed over the debris and sat on a large mound of bricks. The building looked like it had suffered an implosion. Almost the entire front side of the building had fallen in, rubble strewn across the sidewalks. Dante shivered involuntarily when he suddenly felt the faded presence of one who had once been in the area. Ebony sat silently when she suddenly started tugging on a thick silver chain around her neck. She then reached into her pocket and pulled something out. Dante tried to see what it was, but Ebony had her back to him and she was holding it against her chest, as though whatever she held brought a feeling of security. She sat there for a good amount of time when Dante heard a song that he hadn't heard in years. Ebony's quiet, light hum reached his heighted demonic ears,

He closed his eyes as a wave of emotion coursed through him at the sound of the familiar song.

A flash of blonde hair and a pair of sea blue eyes smiled down at the young boy.

The smile of two young children filled his mind.

Dante opened his eyes and looked down at Ebony. His eyes glistened with unshed tears that he blinked away quickly.

Ebony looked up at the sky through the collapsed building as she ceased humming. She remained seated a few minutes beforeher shoulders lifted as she took in a deep breath before stuffing whatever she was holding in her hand back into her pocket and pulled out her iPhone. She checked the time on the screen and slipped it back into her pocket. She stood up and traipsed out of the building, and stopped before her motorcycle, staring at it intently. She felt eyes watching her and she glanced around to notice that she alone on the bare streets with only the wind whispering around her, before looking up at the rooftops of the buildings to see…

Nothing.

She shook off the feeling she had before mounting her motorcycle and made a U-turn, driving towards the high school.

Dante stood up from ducking down, lest him being seen by Ebony and watched the direction she was driving until the realization of where she was going sunk in, reminding him of something else. "Shoot." Dante muttered as he hurried back to the Devil May Cry to get his car to pick up Lady.

"I almost thought that you weren't going to show up." Lady said as she got into Dante's car.

"Geez, Lady. You really thought I wasn't gonna come?" Dante chuckled.

"Knowing you, you probably would've come up with an excuse to not come pick me up." Lady said to him. Dante pulled away from Lady's home and drove down the street,

"I saw Ebony today."

Lady's head snapped towards him.

"What?"

"She didn't see me though. She drove by Devil May Cry, and I followed her to a building."

"So you stalked her?" She asked.

"Nah, more like creeped on her." Dante chuckled. Lady rolled her eyes,

"This building… It didn't happen to be in the middle of nowhere, and look like it had collapsed, did it?"

Dante didn't take his eyes away from the road.

"As a matter of fact, you're right. How'd ya know?" Lady watched the buildings pass by,

"She's told me about it before. She told me that it's one of the few places where she thinks she catches glimpses of her memories. But they disappear as quickly as they come." Lady explained to him. Dante's eyes flickered over to Lady,

"Has she told you why?" Dante asked.

Lady shook her head slowly. Dante gritted his teeth, his eyes settling on the road again before speaking,

"There's something else that you should know."

"And what's that?" Lady asked.

"That place where she went, there was an aura there that I hadn't felt in years."

"Dante—?"

"Vergil was there, Lady."

Silence erupted between them.

"How long would you say?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"Considering how faint the aura was, I would say years, probably." He answered solemnly.

Lady bit her lip. She took into consideration the sadness that stole away into the Devil Hunters eyes. It had been years since she saw that same sadness, the loneliness take over his jovial façade. Like somewhere inside him, a door that had been locked and chained up had begun to creak open, letting out a river of feelings before slamming shut at the next words she uttered.

"What does it mean?"

Dante glanced over at her, "That's what I'm planning to find out." He turned his eyes back to the road.

'_What happened there that fateful night?'_

The rest of the drive was quiet until they reached the high school. Lady thanked Dante as she got out of the car, slinging her backpack over her shoulder before turning away from the car,

"Wait, Lady." Lady looked back at Dante, "While she was there, at the building, Ebony pulled something out of her pocket. I'm not sure what it was, but I was wondering if you could find out for me?" He pleaded. Lady closed her eyes and nodded her head. "Thanks. I knew that under that tough exterior, you had a soft squishy side." He said with a grin.

"Oh, shut it you." Lady grumbled before walking inside. Ebony was standing behind the glass entrance, a tall, young man with sweeping black hair standing next to her and talking with her. Dante's grin fell as he spotted the male standing next to her and glared at him, analyzing how close he was standing next to her before letting out a scoff and pulling out of the school parking lot.

**OooOooO**

"Looks like Lady got here just in time." Zack pointed out to Ebony. Ebony glanced over her shoulder to see Lady get out of a red convertible. She went to go stand by the glass doors when her eyes narrowed at the sight of Dante.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked when he noticed Ebony go rigid.

Ebony shook her head quickly, "Nothing." She said bluntly before smiling as Lady walked in.

"I just realized this morning that your motorcycle was still at my house." Ebony said to her.

"I would've gotten it last night. But you were pretty adamant about walking home by yourself." Lady chuckled.

Ebony laughed and scratched the back of her head. "Yeeeahhhh… Sorry about that Lady." She said sheepishly.

Lady shook her head, "No harm done. I'll just get it after school today." She looked over at Zack, "Good morning Zack." She said with a nod. Zack gave her a crooked smile,

"Morning, Lady. How are you doing this cold morning?" He asked.

"I'm just freezing my butt off, obviously." She said, as she motioned to her slightly reddened face.

"It _is_ getting colder." Zack mused as he folded his arms across his chest.

The bell rang and Lady sighed,

"I swear my brain is going to explode if Mr. Grees tries to stuff more crap about physic equations in my head." Ebony smiled at her,

"Is he still acting like he's all high and mighty?" She asked her.

"You have _no_ idea." Lady chuckled before turning away and waving back to them, "I'll see you two later." She said to them before walking away.

Ebony turned to Zack, "Well, we should probably go to class."

Zack nodded, "Wonder what our new project is?" He asked as they turned and started to walk to class,

"Good question. Mr. Jackson hasn't really mentioned much about our next one." Ebony said. Zack nodded and they walked together in silence when Ebony stopped in her tracks. Zack glanced back at her,

"Ebony?"

Ebony stared down the hallway to see Jeanne and her posse making their way towards them.

"It's your girlfriend." Ebony said icily. Zack followed the direction of her eyes to see Jeanne toss her hair over her shoulder.

"Oh… so it is." He sighed and turned back to Ebony, "You go to class without me. I got a feeling that she wants to talk to me about something." He rolled his eyes, "Again."

Ebony smiled and nodded before walking ahead, avoiding the girls as they gave her the major stink eye. She looked back to see them approach Zack before she headed down the hallway to go to class. She walked and the first thing she noticed was that the noise level was quite high, but not high enough to disturb the other nearby classes. Ebony walked over to the table and sat down next to Kayshia. Ebony greeted her, but was met with silence. Kayshia glanced at her, before staring down at the table blankly.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Ebony asked, leaning forward to look at her friends face.

"Nothing." Kayshia turned her face away.

Ebony frowned, "Is it about yesterday?" She whispered. Kayshia continued staring at the front of the class before shaking her head no. Ebony's frown deepened, "What is it then?" She asked silently.

"I had a dream." She said simply. Ebony stared at the back of her friends head.

"You're mad at me… over a dream? Was I in it or something?" She questioned.

"Yeah."

Ebony blinked, "Come on, you need to give me more than that. What happened in the dream?"

Kayshia looked up at her, "Well, I wasn't physically in it, but it seemed like I was watching it play out. Like a movie. And there was this young woman, she was so pretty Ebony, she had long brown hair, and it was curly. It looked so soft, and she wore this beautiful white dress that flowed around as she danced in the streets. This man was standing off to the side watching her with a smile on his face, before walking out and hugging the girl. She hugged him back and they stood like that for a while before you and Dante came along and pulled out swords. The man pushed the girl back, trying to reason with you, but you ignored him and grabbed the girl before you stabbed her.

"The man screamed her name as he watched you kill her in front of him. She fell to the ground, and her blood, it was all over her white dress… The man knelt down and picked her up before turning to you and started screaming insults at you. And you just smiled before spitting on them and walking away with Dante as though nothing had happened. How Ebony? How could anyone kill someone so beautiful? So unbelievably perfect? I just don't understand."

Ebony sat in silence as she let this sink in.

"This man, what did he look like?" She asked in a low voice.

Kayshia thought silently about it before responding, "Well, he was wearing those clothes you see in movies that take place in old London. And his hair was sort of long, and completely black with hair over his right eye, he had pale skin, and the strangest feature he had was the fact that his eyes were almost completely black."

Ebony's eyes widened a fraction of an inch, "And the name he called out, what was it?" Kayshia's brows furrowed as she searched for the name.

"He screamed Evaline."

"_And that's only the edited version of what you did to her."_ Ebony heard being whispered into her ear.


	5. Chapter 5

_WHACHA! I managed to get this out in less than 2 weeks! :D I don't like the chapter too much though :P I might go back and fix it up, but I want to give you guys something to read at the very least, since I've been very bad at updating..._

_**Cereza101:** Haha, you have no idea how frustrated I get with cliff hangers, but I do them too XD And yes you do! D: I go crazy when you leave us on a cliffhanger! Hahaha :) Thank you for reviewing! *Gives cookies*  
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_**Amon Delacroix:** Yeah... I definitely need more action in my chapters :P But I'm glad you did like it! And sure, why not? *Gives licorice* And I'm trying! Haha :) You can blame it on school, well, mostly XD I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
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_**Guest:** Thank you for reviewing on my chapters! And I'm so glad that you approve how I write my stories :3 makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside! *Gives cookies*  
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_Well, pull up a blanket, get cozy, maybe make a cup of hot cocoa (For I certainly need one) And I hope you like the next chapter! Thank you to those who followed, faved, and to those shy people that read my story, yes, you! *points* I love you all! Please review, follow, etc :)_

* * *

Chapter Five

Ebony looked around her for the source of the voice, but she only saw her peers chattering amongst themselves.

Kayshia frowned at her, "What's wrong with you?" She asked. Ebony looked over at her,

"I thought… no, never mind." Ebony shook her head. She heard Kayshia sigh,

"Well, either way, I'm sorry for getting mad at you ever a stupid dream. It's not as though it was real anyways." Kayshia snorted, "Like you would ever have the guts to kill someone." Her face darkened as she recounted the events from the night before, "Monsters, maybe." She said in a hushed tone. Ebony pursed her lips.

"Don't remind me." She closed her eyes and folded her arms across the table and put her head on them. "Man, I'm so tired." Her voice was muffled by her arms. Kayshia looked down at her,

"Rough night?" she asked. Ebony nodded once and sat up.

"School hasn't even officially started yet, and I already want it to be over." She rubbed her eyes before the bell chimed.

"It has now." Ebony jumped slightly and looked over at Zack who was standing next to her.

"You scared me!" She hissed. Zack smiled,

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." He said to her as he went to sit down in his seat in front of them quietly. Ebony eyed him warily,

"Did something happen between you and Jeanne?" She asked. Zack chuckled,

"She broke it off, something about meeting new people." He scoffed, "I should've realized she was cheating on me with that dumb jock."

"You seem to be taking it pretty well though." Kayshia said to him.

"I knew something like this would happen." He chuckled.

Ebony felt a sharp jab in her ribs and she threw a glare at Kayshia, "What was that for?" She asked. Kayshia wiggled her eyebrows,

"He's single now." She whispered in her ear. Ebony rolled her eyes,

"Don't even start with that." She said, exasperated. Zack raised an eyebrow at the girls sitting in front of him,

"Err… Is this something I should know about?" He asked cautiously. Kayshia smiled goofily white Ebony dropped her head and sighed,

"Don't worry about it. Just some dumb girl stuff." She explained. Zack nodded slowly, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

School went by quickly. Before she knew it, Ebony had already walked out of the glass doors. She made her way to her bike when she saw Lady,

"Do you want to come over right now?" She called out. Lady nodded,

"It'd be nice to have my own method of transportation again." She laughed. Ebony smiled and mounted her motorcycle and stuck the keys in the ignition. She leaned back and patted the space behind her,

"Climb on then." Lady adjusted her backpack and got on the motorcycle.

"How was your day?" She asked Ebony. Ebony turned the key and the motorcycle roared to life.

"It was… restless." She answered. Lady raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

Ebony hesitated, "I had a really messed up dream last night. And that guy we met at Fredi's? He was waiting for me outside of the gates."

Lady tensed and Ebony felt it, "He didn't do anything though. He just talked with me. I'll tell you more at my house, since it's more private." She said nodding to the parking lot flooded with students. Lady nodded and they left the school.

It was especially windy that day, causing Lady to shiver. Ebony didn't seem too bothered by it though, but perhaps it was because she was wearing a hoodie. That was when Lady noticed a piece of fabric peeking out of Ebony's pocket. A gust of wind suddenly caught it and ripped it out of her pocket. Ebony saw it fly out and gasped, but Lady had already managed to snatch it out of the air before it flew out of her grasp. Lady watched Ebony's shoulders slump in relief and a nod of gratitude was given. Lady didn't respond as she stared down, wide-eyed, at the fabric in her hands. It was dark blue, almost black in color, and made out of the purest silk. There were slightly lighter intricate designs around the borders. She clamped her hand around it and decided she would ask Ebony about it when they arrived at her house.

When they arrived, they both got off of her motorcycle. Ebony leaned against it as she watched Lady stare at her wide-eyed.

"Can I have it back?" She whispered, holding out her hand. Lady hesitated and held up the soft fabric.

"Where did you get this?" She asked. Ebony dropped her hand and shrugged.

"I was told that it was given to me by the man that brought me to the hospital the day of the accident." She responded.

"Did they give you a name?" She asked her.

Ebony shook her head, "The nurses just told me that he didn't leave my side. And that one day, he just disappeared and left that behind." She pointed to the fabric held in Lady's hands. Lady looked down at it and gave it back to Ebony. She thanked her before continuing on, "He never gave a name to them." She stared down at the fabric in her hand before closing her fist around it. Lady stared at Ebony for a long time,

"I know who it belongs to." She mumbled. Ebony glanced up at her with brightened eyes, a feeling of joy welling up in her stomach at the thought of learning who the mysterious man was.

"Really? Who was it? I want to thank him for saving me." She said with a wide smile. Lady hesitated, not certain how to answer her question.

"His name was Vergil."

Her smile faltered slightly, "…What do you mean by was?" Ebony asked, Lady shifted about uncomfortably before answering bluntly,

"He died."

Ebony blinked and her smile fell from her face completely, "He… died?" She repeated slowly, as though she didn't want to believe Lady's words.

Lady nodded.

"When?"

"About 2 years ago." Lady responded. She watched as Ebony took on a pensive gaze as she stared at the silk fabric held in her hand.

"Can we go visit his grave?" Ebony looked up with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes. Lady shook her head,

"There isn't a grave." Lady said sadly. Ebony's eyes fell back to the ground, dropping her hand with the fabric in it.

"How did he die?" She asked quietly.

Lady shook her head, "It's not my place to say." She said in a low voice.

"Then whose place is it to say?" Ebony questioned, turning her gaze to Lady and analyzing her reaction.

"He has a twin brother. It would be a good idea to ask him, since he was there when he died." Lady said, avoiding Ebony's weighty gaze.

"Who was his twin?" She warily asked. Lady sighed and closed her eyes,

"Dante's his twin." A short silence carried between them before Ebony laughed dryly.

"This is a joke right? You're just trying to get me to talk with Dante again, aren't you?" Ebony fell silent, "I don't truly find it amusing, if you're lying to me, might as well tell me now, I can tell when you're lying."

Lady opened her eyes. "Then tell me, am I lying?"

Ebony stared at her and turned away from the bold heterochromatic eyes.

"And was Dante lying last night when he told you that you used to kill demons with him? That you knew him?" She stared at Ebony's overcast face, "Well, was he?" She pressed.

Ebony gritted her teeth as she shook her head slowly.

"Then why won't you talk with him?" Lady asked her.

"I'm scared."

Lady's brows furrowed, "Of Dante?" Ebony shook her head before responding,

"I'm scared of my past, it's like… I want to know, I want to fill the empty void I have in me, all 16 missing years of it, but something in my mind keeps telling me that I shouldn't find out my past. It's almost as if I forgot everything before the events that took place two years ago for a reason." Ebony glanced up at Lady for a sign of understanding. Lady nodded reluctantly, and a small smile appeared on Ebony's face before she bit her lip, "I guess I was quite harsh with Dante yesterday, wasn't I?" She sighed, "I mean, he did save my life, twice for that matter."

"He seemed hurt when you told him that you didn't want to see him anymore." Lady told her. Ebony's brows came together,

"Really? Why would he?" Ebony asked incredulously. Lady shrugged,

"I guess you were close to him back then."

"What? Like, boyfriend and girlfriend relationship?" Ebony asked.

"He gets mad at me every single time I refer to you as his girlfriend." Lady told her.

"Err… Ok, now my curiosity is peaked."

"No kidding, you should probably find out what went on between you all those years ago." Lady turned to her motorcycle and pulled her keys from her pocket. She swung her leg over the motorcycle and turned it on.

"I guess I should…" Ebony turned to her own chopper and turned it on as well. Lady raised an eyebrow,

"You're going to talk with him?" She asked her. Ebony nodded,

"I might as well get it over with." Ebony said with a small chuckle, "Could you show me where he lives?"

Lady nodded, "It's sort of far. It's a couple of towns over. Around the area where Fredi's Diner is." Lady explained. Ebony got on her motorcycle,

"Lead the way then."

They drove away from Ebony's house, Lady in front and Ebony following behind. It took them about 30 minutes before Ebony started to have a feeling of Déjà vu. She glanced around and noticed the desolate buildings. The street names on the poles were faded and unreadable. That's also when Ebony felt a pressure inside her and she looked back to see an inky blackness following them. She looked at Lady still in front of her.

"LADY!" She screamed. Lady glanced back at Ebony to see the darkness following them. Her eyes widened,

"_EBONYYYYY!"_ The darkness shrieked as it crashed down behind her in giant waves. Ebony gassed the engine and drove up next to Lady,

"What do we do?" She asked, her voice seemingly ripped away by the wind.

"Keep driving, there's not much we can do against that." Lady nodded her head towards the darkness. With that, they drove down the streets as fast as their motorcycles could handle when there was a flash of red and silver that shot by them. Lady smiled and stopped her motorcycle, making it swerve around before pulling out her guns from her skirt and lifting them up towards the wave of demons. She heard Ebony's motorcycle tires screech as she came to a stop not too far from her. Lady got off her motorcycle and charged into the darkness to help. Ebony watched in open-mouthed awe as she saw the red and silver dart in and out from the inky cloud, gunshots were fired, and gleaming silver was swung about. A jovial laugh rising above the shrieks of the demons.

He grinned at the exhilaration caused by the adrenaline and activity. The massive sword he swung down cleaved a shadow into two separate parts before he turned to another opponent. His red coat swirling about him like it was alive. He back flipped and landed on the solid pavement before licking his lips. He noticed a shadow trying to sneak up on him before a barrage of bullets tore it apart. He glanced back at Lady who was shooting at more demons in front of her. She glanced back and he and gave her an appreciative nod before charging at the darkness.

Ebony witnessed the scene before her in amazement as she watched the cloud begin to dissipate. Guns continued to fire and swords were swung about when it ended almost as quickly as the fight had started. She stared wide-eyed at the man standing amidst the scattered black corpses. Black blood dripping off of the sword before he flicked it to the side and the blood splattered against the wall, along with intestines and goop. Ebony made a disgusted face at this. She noticed Lady put away her guns and Dante turned towards the females. He placed his sword across his back and made his way over to them.

"You gals alright?" He asked.

Lady nodded, and Ebony closed her mouth quickly before nodding as well.

"What took you so long?" Lady asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know that you were coming? You're lucky that I sensed those sons of bitches before they managed to catch you two." He said, somewhat irritated. Lady rolled her eyes before murmuring a quiet,

"Thanks."

Dante grinned and stepped back, his gaze turned towards Ebony. A flash of concern passed through his eyes.

"Umm…" He started awkwardly, recalling the night before and how she had told him that she didn't want to talk with him anymore. "Are you ok?" He asked warily, uncertain of how Ebony would react towards him. A wave of relief flooded through him when a small smile curved her lips and she nodded.

"Thank you." His handsome face lit up and a crooked grin made its way to his face,

"Anytime." He turned to Lady, "I need to ask, what are you doing around here?" Lady glanced back at Ebony.

"She wants to ask you something rather… personal." She told him. Dante arched a silver eyebrow and Lady sighed. She gripped his coat sleeve and he bent his silvery head down to her level. "The object you wanted me to discover was a square piece of fabric that belonged to Vergil." Dante's eyes shut before he straightened and opened his eyes, "She wants to ask you about him." She whispered. Dante pursed his lips and looked over Lady's head to gaze at Ebony,

"Let's go to my place, it'll be a lot safer there then here."

Lady let Dante drive her motorcycle with her sitting behind him and they drove off, Ebony looked back at where the inky blackness used to be when she saw him, standing next to a crumbling brick wall. The silver and gold inlaying on his clothes glistening in the sunlight,

"They will manage to capture you, Ebony, no matter how long it takes. And after they're done with you, I will find you and kill you." His voice whispered in her ear. Ebony shivered and Redom grinned before melting into the shadows. Ebony stared at the space before her before she turned her motorcycle around and drove away. She caught up to Lady and Dante, and they arrived at Dante's shop in a few minutes. Lady and Dante got off of Lady's motorcycle and went to stand next to the door. Ebony gazed up at the unlit neon sign above the doorway.

"You live here?" She asked incredulously, she coughed, remembering her thought about the name, _'Devil May Cry'_ earlier in the day. Dante scoffed,

"Yeah, it's been years since I first moved in." He told her, Ebony got off her motorcycle and went to go stand with them. Dante pushed open the door; the door hinges squeaked loudly, "Welcome to my humble abode." He said with a grin as he bowed mockingly. The two girls walked in, Ebony's nose instantly scrunched up as it was assaulted by a mixture of strange smells.

"How in the world do you handle that smell?" She gagged as she plugged her nose. Dante looked down at her and laughed at the face she was making.

"I can't smell it anymore. Guess you can say I got used to it." He said to her.

"Trust me, it always smells like this. It doesn't help that he has those pinned up to the wall." Lady pointed to Ebony's left. She turned and screamed when she saw gleaming fangs and two black eyes staring at her. She took off and hid behind Dante. When she peeked out, she realized that it was cut in half and pinned to the wall with swords.

"Why in the world would you have something like that on your wall?" She asked as she stepped away from Dante, "That thing almost gave me a heart attack!"

Dante threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh, "They're my trophies!" He looked over at his wall, "And they're dead… well, most of them are anyways." He explained with a low chuckle behind his words.

Ebony eyes the dead demons warily, "Err… What do you mean by most of them?" She asked. Lady rolled her eyes and walked over to her friend and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He's just kidding Ebony." She told her. She showed her over to the sofas in the corner of the room. They chose to sit down on the one facing the doors, Lady on the outside.

"So, I have to ask, you told me that you never wanted to see me. What changed your mind?" Dante asked as he followed them and pulled off his jacket and tossed it on the coat hanger before proceeding to take off his dirty leather gloves and set them on his desk. He then went to sit down on the opposite sofa from them, nearest to Ebony.

Ebony bit her lip softly before she responded, "I was, still am, scared. I knew you were telling the truth from the start, but I didn't want to know the truth about myself. Every time that I try, I just feel pain." She looked down at her intertwined hands.

Lady glanced up to see Dante staring at Ebony sadly before he realized Lady was watching. The sadness suddenly disappeared from his eyes, and was instead replaced with a vacant expression.

"But you want to know now?" He asked.

Ebony shook her head,

"No, I just want to know about your brother… If that's alright with you." She glanced up at him, waiting patiently for a response from the red devil hunter.

"Why do ya wanna know about him? He was pretty difficult to get along with." Dante scoffed.

"He saved my life, 3 years ago when I was hit by a semi. He brought me to the hospital and stayed with me for days before he disappeared and I fell into a coma." Dante's eyebrows drew together,

"Ya don't say…" He mused.

"I want to know more about him, I owe him that much." She told him.

Dante leaned back on the sofa, "Well, he was my older twin. But we were completely different. You see me, all dorky and crazy, my brother was the complete opposite. He was cold, cruel, calculating, and calm. You could even say that he was devoid of any emotions. We never got along very well, we always got in fights. After the years, it just got worse." He said to her.

"How did he die?" Ebony asked quietly, gazing steadily at him.

"I—" Dante sighed, "It's a complicated story." Dante looked straight ahead to gaze at a fingerless leather glove resting on the corner of his desk, a clean cut running through the palm. "But to make a long story short, he went mad, and he had to be stopped." He closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. Pushing his hair back, something flickered inside Ebony, like an ember that was desperately trying to relight itself, but it was quickly smothered. Lady stared silently at the identical resemblance Dante held to his deceased brother. Dante let his hand flop down, his hair quickly following suit.

It was silent for minutes as everyone stared at the coffee table. Ebony then broke the silence, "I don't want to bother you anymore… I can easily tell that it's hard for you to talk about it." She stood up and Dante's head snapped up,

"Wait, don't go." He reached out and took her hand. The instant they made contact, pain tore through Ebony, and past images seared themselves into her mind. She cried out and gripped her head with her left hand.

Lady shot up. "Dante! Let go of her!" She screamed. The devil hunter was too stunned at what was taking place before him that he didn't hear Lady screaming until she stood before him and slapped him hard across the face. He let go of Ebony's hand and she fell to her knees, gripping her head with both of her hands. Lady knelt down next to her and gripped her shoulders. "Ebony!" She yelled. Ebony's face contorted in pain as a wail left her lips and Lady's grip tightened. Dante stood up and reached out towards Ebony before his hands were slapped away by a furious Lady, "Stay away! It's your fault that this happened in the first place!" She raged.

"What did I do? I only touched her!" He snapped at her as he stared at Ebony, wide-eyed as he watched her tremble in Lady's arms.

"Well, you obviously did something!" Lady said to him, "Ebony, are you ok?" She asked her friend again. Ebony ceased shaking and sat still before she gave a small nod.

Dante reached out a hand, "Ebony, I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

Lady glared at Dante, which made him pause in mid-sentence. That's when Ebony reached up with her left hand and gently placed it on Lady's hand on her right shoulder.

"It's ok Lady, it's passed now." She assured her. She slowly got up, Lady went to help her but Ebony held up a hand to stop her. She straightened and walked around Lady towards the wall with the demonic trophies. She turned to look at the sword, Sparda, and reached out to touch it. Her fingers glided over the rough surface before she turned and walked around Dante's desk. Dante and Lady watched her closely as she picked up the picture frame and stared at it, her fingers running down the face of the blond woman in the picture.

"This place has more furniture than when I was last here." She set it down gently and turned to Dante. His heart clenched at the sight of Ebony's facial expression, her eyes glistened with unshed tears, a smile on her face. Dante glided towards her and took her in his strong arms. She responded with a hug of her own, "I can't believe it's been so long." She whispered into his chest. Dante's arms tightened around her,

"And I can't believe I managed to find you. I thought you had died." He then whispered into her hair,

"You have no idea how much I've missed you little sis."


	6. Chapter 6

_Err… I didn't like the chapter I had posted up, too much talking in it and it didn't seem to do anything to add to the story… Sooooooooooo I typed up a new one… *awkward laugh* _

_**Cereza101:**__Haha, caught you off guard there, didn't I? ;) Thank you so much for reviewing! Makes me a happy camper! *gives cookies*_

_**Amon Delacroix:**__I don't know if I unconsciously did that on purpose, but I didn't want to tell the readers before it was time. I wanted it to be a big slap in the face :P Not too hard though of course! I'm so glad that you're liking it. And here's some more licorice! *gives licorice*_

_**Reave the Damned:**__I'm glad that I managed to pull off that tone :) I've always enjoyed the original DMC tone, light and sarcastic, with some serious stuff thrown in the mix. Oh! Thank you for pointing that out to me, I don't want to confuse my readers! D: Thank you so much for reviewing and giving me some pointers on what I should do! *gives cookies*_

_Please review if you see errors on my writing, I'm trying to improve, but I don't really catch every mistake I make XD Or just review for fun, I love you all, and I hope you have a beautiful snow white December! Or green, brown... Err... depending on where you live :P_

Chapter 6

"Wait… sister?" Ebony pulled away from Dante to look at a shocked Lady, "Did I miss something somewhere? How come you suddenly remember everything now?" She stared at Ebony skeptically, "You do remember everything, right?"

Ebony nodded slowly, shifting her weight to her other foot, "I don't know how I suddenly remembered everything though."

"It happened right when we touched hands. That's as far as I know." Dante said.

"Maybe whatever was holding back my memories crumbled at the touch of someone from my past?" Ebony murmured, bringing up her thumb to bite her nail.

"Whatever it was, I'm glad your memories came back." Dante said with a wide grin. Ebony glanced up at him with a smile before stuffing her hands into the hoodie pocket.

"Hey, I'm still here." Lady reminded them, waving a hand. Ebony glanced at Lady,

"Wait a minute, how do you know Dante?" She asked. Her brow furrowed as she thought, "I don't see you as the type of person to go around looking for dangerous men."

Lady scoffed, "As if. I would never date him." She said pointedly.

"I didn't say that you would." Ebony chuckled. Lady scowled,

"He got in my way, I shot him a couple of times, and then he helped me." She crossed her arms over her white button-up blouse.

"She shot at you?" Ebony glanced at Dante with a raised eyebrow. Dante scratched the back of his neck.

"Hey, if it means anything, she shot at me first when I was trying to help her." He grumbled.

"Let me guess, you were checking her out." Ebony deadpanned.

Dante held up his hand with a space between his index and thumb, "Maybe just a little." He grinned.

"After he helped me out, we kept in touch. Now we're business partners." Lady said.

"Business partners don't take each other's money." Dante pointed out. Lady glared at him, "You know it's true!" Dante responded to her glare. Ebony held up a hand,

"Hold up, start from the beginning. I have no idea what you two are even talking about."

Dante and Lady looked at each other, then to the lithe girl in the oversized grey hoodie,

"You might wanna sit down for this, Eb. It's a long story." He said to her.

They sat down on the worn sofa again, and Dante began recounting the things Ebony had missed.

By the time he had finished, the clock read 9:30 and it was pitch black outside. Ebony sat with her legs crossed, staring long and hard at the coffee table as she mulled over everything she had been told. Dante and Lady watched Ebony. They were surprised when she stood up with a smile on her face,

"Let's go for a walk. It's a beautiful night; it would be a waste not to breathe in the fresh air." She said. Dante snapped his fingers,

"Before you go out, I wanna give you something before I forget." He stood up quickly and walked behind a column that stood behind his desk. Ebony couldn't see what he was doing, so she glanced at Lady for hope of an answer. Lady shrugged and raised her hands,

"Don't look at me. I have no idea what he wants to give you." She told her. Ebony turned back to see Dante walking towards her with a large sword in his hands.

"Aerib," Ebony murmured as she took the gleaming blade from her brother's grasp. A welcoming aura exuded from the sword in reaction to the touch from its long lost master. The skull on the pommel seemed to be grinning at her. The diamonds running down the middle glistened brightly with what seemed to be an inner light. "You took care of him." She observed.

"You have no idea how depressed he would get. I would clean him and take him out for a swing once in a while. It would be a shame to let dust gather on him." Dante told her. He looked down at the sword, "He seems happy now that you're back."

Ebony nodded and ran her hand down its broad surface, "Now I can take you out. Dante must've been so annoying, with those wise-ass remarks of his." She chuckled.

"Hey!" Dante folded his arms across his chest, "I don't make wise-ass remarks!"

Ebony and Lady raised an eyebrow at him before incredulously saying in unison, "Really?"

Dante held back his tongue with a light scowl, "There's no point in fighting without having fun." He said to them.

Ebony rolled her eyes with a smile, "Thank you for taking care of him though."

Dante nodded with a grin, reaching out to let his hand pat her silver silky locks, "Anytime Eb."

"Well then, let's go for that walk I desperately need. I've been sitting for too long." She slung Aerib across her back, an invisible force holding it to her before walking over to the door. Dante grabbed Rebellion and followed suit.

"You coming?" Dante called back to Lady.

"Yeah, hold on." She answered as she found some of her spare guns around the shop and strapped them onto her legs. She pulled the leather strap until it fit snuggly against her thigh before following them.

"So, why do you have the sudden impulse to go on a walk?" Lady asked Ebony as they walked down the moonlit sidewalk.

"There are always demons at night. I decided it would be nice to kill some while I think over what you two told me." Ebony said while looking straight ahead. Lady glanced at Dante,

"What can I say? She thinks clearer when she's soaked in blood." He chuckled,

"When you say it like that, it makes me sound like some sort of bloodthirsty creature." Ebony pouted. Dante walked up next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders,

"Who's to say we aren't?" Dante asked, "At least it's demons that we're bloodthirsty for, a much better alternative than humans." He smiled. Ebony sighed and shook her head. Dante dropped his arm from around her shoulders.

"Dante, you're just going to kill demons without getting paid?" Lady could hardly believe that Dante hadn't started complaining about payment.

Dante, just to get on her nerves, smirked, "What makes you think I'm going to get involved in this fight? I'm just gonna sit back, relax and watch you two kill demons."

Lady scowled, "Are you that lazy?"

Dante's grin grew wider, "Hey, you said it yourself, I'm not getting paid. What's the point of fighting?" Lady gritted her teeth to stop herself from blowing up on him, her hands balling into fist at her side.

"You guys sound like a married couple." Ebony said to them. Lady's mouth fell open,

"What are you— what? No!" She stuttered. She pointed at Dante angrily, "Why the hell would I marry someone like him?"

Ebony gave her a sly smirk with a knowing glint in her eyes. Lady bit her tongue and stomped ahead of them.

They walked in silence until they reached the docks, skeletons of unfinished warehouses scattered around the area.

"They still haven't finished these buildings?" Lady asked.

"Yeah, I usually have to come here because there are demons. I think the workers gave up trying to build here." Dante said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Ebony scanned the area before frowning. "It's quiet."

"Not a good sign." Dante noted.

"Can you two sense anything?" Lady asked them. Ebony concentrated and Dante glared at something in the distance,

"Do you sense something Dante?" Ebony asked, glancing at her brother standing next to her, "I can't really rely on my senses. They seem to have gotten dull."

"There's only one demon here." His brow furrowed, "It's the guy that was looking for you at Fredi's." Ebony followed his gaze to see the demon he was talking about. He sat on a metal rail at the top of the on the unfinished buildings. His leg dangled off the side, slightly swinging as he looked up at the moon.

"That's Redom." Ebony's eye twitched. At the mention of his name, Redom seemed to stir from his trance and looked down at the three demon hunters. He stood up, balancing on the rail before jumping off and gracefully falling to the ground without even disturbing the dust and dirt. He walked towards them, his black shoes hardly even making any sound on the wooden surface of the docks.

"You seem different Ebony." Redom observed.

"Lucky for you, I remembered everything." Ebony told him. He tilted his head to the side, his black eyes looking over her.

"You don't say." He chuckled, "Let me guess, you're still thinking of a way to convince me into thinking you didn't kill my dear Evaline?" He sneered.

"Why don't you just stop this? I didn't kill Evaline, you must've mistook us for her killers. I have absolutely no memory of killing a demon of Evaline's description." Ebony started, "And the methods you say I took to kill her, that's not how I work."

Redom bared his teeth, "Don't play me a fool!" He roared, "I saw both of you half-breeds take her from me right before my eyes! We never did any wrong!" He pointed at Ebony, "And you, you were the most heartless, I begged you to take my life after you slaughtered her." He looked down at his hands, "I held her lifeless body in my arms as I begged you. But you wished for me to suffer." His face contorted into a look of anguish, "You said that she deserved it like any other demon. But she didn't. She cared about your pathetic humans. I will never understand why, but she would always sing to them as they died, she told me that they only wished for peace when they left this world. She never wanted to see them in pain." He curled his fingers into fists, "We were just walking by ourselves. She wanted me to go eat at a restaurant she had discovered. Then you two came along, you didn't ask any questions. Instead, you just killed her." He turned his glare to Ebony, pure hatred emanating from his being, "For that, you shall pay!" He bellowed, a sword broke through the surface of the ground and into his waiting hand before he charged at Ebony. Ebony quickly drew her sword and blocked the blow which caused sparks to fly.

"Are you truly not willing to listen to reason?" She cried out to him.

"Why should I give you a chance, when you gave my love none?" He yelled. He noticed a gleam to his left and he leapt back. Dante's sword narrowly missed the border of his coat. Redom straightened, lifting the sword to point it at Dante. He also kept an eye on the female human next to him, "Stay out of this. My revenge is towards Ebony." He warned. Dante stepped forward, his lip lifting in a slight growl when Ebony held up her arm against his chest.

"Let me handle this Dante," She said to him, "If he wants to fight with me, then let him fight with me." Dante glanced down at her,

"Ebony…"

"I'll be fine. I'm not that rusty with my fighting." She smiled at him. Dante frowned but complied with her request. Lady glanced worriedly at Ebony,

"She'll be ok." Dante whispered to her, "She knows how to take care of herself." Lady felt a little more relieved, but still felt fidgety.

Ebony turned her head to look at Redom and stepped up to him.

"Let's make a deal, Redom. If I win, I don't kill you and you listen to reason. If you win, then you can kill me." Dante made a motion to interfere but stopped.

Redom stared at Ebony before nodding curtly. Without warning, he rushed at her. Ebony dodged the blow, causing his sword to splinter the wood. Ebony sliced Aerib down his left shoulder, causing Redom to hiss in pain. The would quickly healed and attacked Ebony, his sword clashing with Aerib several times before a delivered a strong blow, causing Aerib to ricochet against his own. Her arm flew back and left an opening. Redom took the opportunity to lunge forward, intending to drive his blade through her abdomen. Ebony quickly spun around the blade, but it grazed her right arm. She ended up behind him and swung her sword upwards, Aerib parted the clothing and flesh on his back as if it were warmed butter. Redom let out a cry of frustration and staggered forward. He leapt up into the air and alighted upon a high metal bar. Ebony followed close behind and balanced on the bar in front of him.

Dante and Lady watched from below as Ebony and Redom fought. They leapt off of the bar at the same time and met in mid-air. Their swords clanged loudly in the night, the force of their powers causing them to fly back. Ebony flipped in mid-air and managed to land on the bar again. Redom grabbed a rail above him. He then dropped back down onto the bar.

"Why are you being so stubborn?" Ebony asked.

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST DIE!?" Redom bellowed as he dashed forward. Ebony blocked the blow, causing his sword to fly out of his hands. But that didn't stop him. He rammed right into Ebony, causing them both to soar through the air. Redom managed to yank her sword out of her hands before they crashed onto the wooden dock. The sound of splintering wood filled the air as they broke through, falling into the freezing water below. Dante and Lady raced over to the massive hole, looking down into the dark water for any sign of life.

"Dante, where is she? Can you see her?" Lady asked in rising agitation. There was a sound of cracking wood before the dock seemed to become more wobbly. Then another, and another. Dante realized what was happening, he wrapped his arm around Lady's small waist and leapt up into the air as the dock below them shattered and fell into the water. Dante landed a ways off, Lady watched in horror, worst case scenarios playing through her brain. She shook her head, her hands reaching up and grasping clumps of raven black hair. She felt Dante let go of her waist, instead, he gripped her shoulder.

"She'll be fine. My little sis is tougher than that." He tried to say light-heartedly, but his eyes betrayed him. He was scanning the water anxiously, his throat felt dry. "She'll be fine."

Ebony's back hurt from the collisions against the wooden columns that Redom had thrown her into that had been holding up the docks. She tried to pry Redom's hands off her throat but to no avail. She looked up at him, his black hair floated in the water, blind fury in his eyes as his hands gripped her throat even tighter. Ebony balled her hand into a fist, a black glow built up around it before she swung it into Redom's face. A look of surprise colored his face, his hands releasing their hold around her neck. Ebony grabbed a metal rail that was floating down. She then swung it with all her might right into Redom. The blow caused him to shoot back in the water, giving her a chance to resurface. She quickly swam to a part of the dock that still stood, Lady and Dante standing at the edge. Dante lay down on the wooden dock and reached down to her. She reached her hand up and clasped his. He pulled her up enough that her feet were out of the water when she felt something grab her ankle. She looked down to see Redom glaring up at her, his hair plastered to his face.

"You're not getting away so easily." He growled at her.

Just then, lightning struck the water. Redom screamed and Ebony cried out as the lighting coursed through her body. Redom let go of her ankle and Dante pulled her up quickly. Ebony was pulled onto his hard chest, his arms wrapping around her as the pain in her body subsided.

"Are you ok?" He asked her.

Ebony nodded her head shakily, "Yeah." She rolled off his chest Lady knelt down, helping Ebony sit up. "W- what happened?" She asked in a daze.

"I happened."

Ebony looked in the direction of the voice to see a woman in black leather clothing saunter up to the trio. Ebony's jaw dropped,

"Mom?" Her voice was above a whisper and shook slightly.

The woman raised an eyebrow behind her sunglasses and took them off, "'Mom?'" She repeated.

"Trish, meet my younger sis, Ebony. Ebony, meet my partner, Trish." Ebony looked back to see Dante stand up.

"Trish?" Ebony tried to process this new information, this woman, who looked identical to the deceased sibling's mother despite the clothing, was actually someone else?

"Err… I guess we forgot to tell you about her." Dante said as he scratched the back of his head, "I was going to tell you about her later… and the entire incident at Mallet Island." Trish looked down at the teenager who was leaning against Lady with a look of complete bewilderment on her flawless face. Her silver white hair was plastered to her face and soaked casual clothes.

"So this girl is your sister?" She glanced up at Dante. He nodded. Trish looked down to see Lady help Ebony get to her feet.

"Yep, this tough girl is my sis." He said as he softly punched her in the shoulder. Ebony rolled her eyes before looking at Trish,

"Sadly." She added jokingly. Dante clutched his chest,

"Your words wound me!" He laughed.

"You seriously lived with this guy ever since birth?" Trish commented in a doubtful tone, pointing to the red-clad devil.

"Hey!"

"Yeah, don't ask me how I did it, for I have no clue." Ebony smirked. Dante let out a gruff, 'humph' and folded his arms across his chest.

"To tell you the truth, I probably would've ended up killing myself if I had to live under the same roof as him." Lady added.

"Hey guys, what are we gonna do with him?" Dante asked, changing the subject as he jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. The group looked down at the floating body in the water, "He's definitely still alive."

"Kill him." Ebony glanced at Lady. Lady shrugged, "Just a suggestion."

The cogs in Ebony's brain turned quickly, trying to think of a solution. She then glanced at the blond she-devil and something clicked.

"We bring him to Devil May Cry and tie him up. I think I know what I can tell him." She glanced at Dante, "You'll have to tell me about the Mallet Island thingy though."

Dante nodded before looking down at the body, "So, who's gonna carry him?" He looked up to see all three females staring at him.

"Aww, come on!"

After much convincing, Dante finally caved into Ebony's request. Ebony found Aerib and they started walking back to the Devil May Cry with Redom slung over Dante's left shoulder. On the walk, Dante and Trish retold the tale of the incident at Mallet Island. Once they reached Devil May Cry, Dante pulled up a wooden chair and tied Redom down with iron chains. Dante glanced at Ebony,

"You're more of a pro at this then me." He said to her. Ebony nodded. She walked over to Dante's desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a marker. She moved to stand before the unconscious demon and proceeded to chant something in a demonic language. She then bent down, uncapping the marker and drawing a large sigil around Redom. When she finished, she straightened and placed the cap back on the marker.

"That should hold him." She took a few steps back. She then glanced at Trish, "Just make sure you don't step in it." She warned.

Trish examined the sigil, "I've read about this, a sigil created to bind demons to one place. They can't step out of it unless one of the lines is broken." She glanced up at Ebony, "I'm impressed one so young created such a flawless binding spell."

Ebony blinked, "Err… Thanks." She said awkwardly. She stared at the unconscious demon, "He seems so peaceful, doesn't he?"

"Just wait until he wakes up." Lady told her. Ebony frowned,

"So tell me, what exactly are you planning on telling him?" Trish placed a hand on her hip and cocked her head at Ebony.

"That Mundus is playing him."

"And what proof do you have of that?" Lady asked.

"Well, none." She said a quiet voice.

"I hope you come up with something soon, Sleeping Beauty is waking up." Dante said as he nodded towards Redom.

The three ladies looked at Redom as he let out a groan, his eyes opening. He blinked multiple times as he looked around, trying to coordinate where he was. His eyes fell on Ebony and his face instantly turned into a glower.

"_You._" He growled, his lip lifting to show razor sharp teeth. He struggled against his chains when Dante wagged a finger at him.

"Uh uh uh, don't try anything. We've got you locked in tight." He pointed to the sigil on the ground. Redom followed the direction Dante's finger was pointing. Once he saw the sigil, his face became even more wrathful, he head snapped up towards Ebony,

"Why not kill me?" He growled, "It should be easy for you, seeing as you killed Evaline without a second thought."

"OH WILL YOU SHOVE IT!?" Ebony yelled, her hands clenching into fists, "Stop being so narrow-minded and listen for a second will you?" Everyone in the room stared at Ebony with wide eyes, "Take a moment and go back to that night, use your brain. Do our auras even feel remotely close to the two people you saw kill your dear mate?" She stepped in front of him and bent down until she was nose-to-nose with him. Water droplets fell from her silver tresses onto his lap as they stared at one another when Redom turned away.

"No."

Ebony straightened. She spun on her heel, sauntering up to Dante's desk and picking up the picture frame. She looked down at it before turning to show Redom,

"This was my mother," She told him, "She died years ago." Redom gazed at the picture as Ebony placed it back on the desk. Ebony glanced at Trish, "This woman was a demon puppet created by Mundus." Redom followed her gaze to the she-devil. "They look identical, don't they?" Ebony gazed steadily at the imprisoned demon.

Redom nodded his head hesitantly.

"Well, who's to say that Mundus didn't do the same thing to you, to trick you into believing that we were Evaline's killers?" Ebony questioned.

Redom chuckled, "Why would he do such a thing? I am loyal to Mundus. I carry out his orders without hesitation. I stay out of the way and cause no trouble for him."

"Doesn't matter if you're loyal to him or not," Dante interrupted him, "Mundus is a heinous monster. I watched him kill his own subjects because they out-lived their usefulness. He didn't even hesitate to do so, in fact he enjoyed it." Dante's fingers curled into a tight fist that shook with anger.

"You're wrong. Mundus is fair to us." Redom interjected, "He gave us a chance to be together."

"If Mundus had told you to come after us, would you?" Dante asked.

Redom stared at the red devil.

"That's what I thought." He scoffed as he crossed his arms across his chest, "He needed to give you a reason to come after us." He told him.

"What?" Redom's brows furrowed.

"He's saying that Mundus created puppets to look like us and killed your mate." Ebony explained.

Redom's eyes widened, "No, he couldn't have."

"You say that we killed Evaline without a second thought, yet here we are trying to convince you that this is not so. We gave you a second thought, because we want to give you a chance." Ebony told him, "How long ago did we supposedly kill her?"

"Last spring."

Dante let out a wry chuckle which caused Redom to look at him.

"You say last spring? Ebony has been missing for 3 years." He looked at Ebony, "It wasn't until today that she remembered who she really is."

Redom's brows together, "Is that so…"

Ebony nodded slowly, "So what do you believe happened?"

Redom glared at the ground, "I-I don't know. I saw you kill her with my very own eyes, yet you're telling me that it was all just a lie." He shook his head, water droplets falling from his pitch black hair, "I don't know what to believe anymore." He muttered.

"I have an idea," Everyone turned to look at Lady, her bi-colored orbs looked at everyone before falling on Redom, "You can investigate more on it." She told him.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Ebony smiled, looking at Redom she continued, "That way you can find out what Mundus is up to as well."

"You would truly let me go?" He asked dubiously, "Do you think that wise?"

Ebony let out a light chuckle, "I'm not cold-hearted. I'm not going to kill you for something like this. You were blinded by revenge after the death of someone you love. You're not like the other demons. Now that we managed to talk some sense into you," She scratched her head, "Well, at least I think we did…" She cleared her throat, "I think that you'll see reason and try to figure out the truth. You're a smart demon, Redom. You have enough will to find out the truth about Evaline's death."

Dante grinned at Ebony. Redom contemplated his options before nodding, Ebony stepped forwards and took the iron chains in her hand and broke them. Then, she scraped the rubber sole of her shoe against a black line on the sigil, causing it so smear.

Redom stood from the chair, rubbing his wrists where the iron had burned his flesh.

"I commend you for your mercy towards my rash actions." He placed a hand on his chest as he bowed deeply, "I hope you can forgive me."

Ebony laughed, "Don't worry about it." She said bashfully, "Just be careful with Mundus, don't let him deceive you."

Redom straightened, "I will." A smile came over his face, "I will see you in the near future." With that, he turned towards the doors of the Devil May Cry and left without another word.

**OooOooO**

_She sung a sad haunting song from the edge of her cell._

"_Cease that." A cold voice demanded before adding harshly, "Lest you wish me to cut out your tongue."_

_She frowned but remained silent for the time being. Pained moans filled the air, at times there were blood-curdling shrieks that would make you shiver. When she couldn't take anymore, she began singing again. Again the guard reprimanded her, but she ignored it and continued singing. She noticed her guard lean his head against the damp wall as he listened to her voice a noiseless sigh escaping his lips. His eyes closed as his features relaxed. She almost wanted to laugh at how harshly he threatens her when she sings, when in reality, he enjoyed it. Her haunting voice carried out throughout the everlasting darkness._


	7. Chapter 7

_It's ridiculous how long it's been since I've updated O.O I'm sooooooo so so so sorry you guys! It's hard to keep up with everything right now, I actually had to type this up on my phone, if I hadn't, it probably still wouldn't be out yet.. I was thinking about making it longer, but I didn't want you guys to wait even more than you already had. Thank you so much for your patience. This chapter is a little bit longer, so I hope you guys like it!_

**_Cereza101:_**_ Now that you say that... You're right, it really does. Haha, it's been a while since I've seen that series, considering how much I enjoyed it the first few seasons._

_**Guest:** Hello fellow human, thank you for reviewing, I'm glad that you're enjoying it :) And about the creepy chick, everything will soon be revealed!  
_

_Well, onto the next chapter!_

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

It had been a little over 2 months since the three saw Redom. During that time, Dante told Ebony everything that had happened during the years of her disappearance, answering any questions she had. Every day, after school, Ebony would go to Devil May Cry to spend time with Dante, especially since Jeanne and her posse had begun bullying her even more than before. Ebony didn't really know why, but she didn't mind it, considering how much worse it had been when she and her brother were younger.

Ebony parked her motorcycle in front of Devil May Cry. She glanced down the street to see that windows were decorated with ghouls and goblins, spider webs covered the balconies and doorways. Her eyes landed on the bare building before her,

"Looks like Dante doesn't want to get in the holiday spirit." She chuckled as she got off of her ride. She fixed her plain long-sleeve grey sweater and her windblown silver hair before walking through the doors of the building.

"Dante?" She called out, she walked over to his desk and set her bag down on the ground next to it. "Dante?" She repeated. Silence greeted her, "Hey, Dante, are you here?"

Nothing.

Ebony's brows furrowed as she didn't sense the red devil. Planting her hands on her hips, she let out a sigh, "Guess he's out on a job. God knows he needs to make some money." She looked down at the desk before her. She grimaced at the multiple pizza boxes strewn across its surface. "He hasn't changed one bit." She mused as she gathered up the empty pizza boxes. She paused when she thought she felt a flicker of demonic power, but quickly disregarded it. She walked out of the shop with an armful of pizza boxes balanced on one arm as she opened the top of the trash can, and quickly dumped the boxes in. Dropping the lid, she clapped her hands together before having a cold shiver run up get spine. Ebony stood still in front if the garbage can, paying close attention to any shifts in the atmosphere.

She felt it instantly, a weak presence. She scanned the area, but didn't see anything. Curiosity overcame her, wanting to investigate what it was that she was sensing. She rubbed her hands together before putting them in the pockets of her black jeans. She figured out the direction the aura was coming from and followed it. With every step she took, it became a little stronger, but the aura itself seemed exhausted.

Her eyes darted into the alleys she passed when she heard a voice call out weakly. Ebony's eyes stared down the alley that the voice called out from.

"Hello?" She called out. She sensed that whoever had called out was the owner of the aura. Ebony stepped into the alley, glancing around cautiously.

"Ebony,"

She spun to the left, noticing the shadow standing there. The pair of guns she had hidden in a holster on her back were pulled out in one fluid motion, they were quickly aimed at the shadow with deadly precision. She glared at the shadow when she noticed that whoever it was standing before her was wounded. Her nose was assaulted by the potent smell of blood.

"Don't shoot," the voice pleaded, "Ebony, it's me." The shadow stumbled into the dim light of the alley.

Ebony's eyes widened, "Redom?" She breathed. Redom gave her a wry smile before grimacing due to recent wounds on his person, which were bleeding profusely. Ebony put her guns away quickly, catching him by the shoulders as he started to fall over.

"I'm fine." He brushed her off, "It'll heal."

"What happened to you? We don't see hide or tail of you, and then you suddenly pop up looking like this." She says, gesturing to his ragged state. His entire coat was torn up and soaked with fresh blood. Multiple wounds covered his body, dark circles were under his eyes...

"I said that I'll be alright." He snapped.

Ebony frowned, "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"We're too exposed here. They're still after me." Redom told her.

"Who's after you?" Ebony asked.

Redom's lip pulled back in a snarl, "Mundus's bounty hunters."

Ebony's eyes widened a fraction, "Come, let's leave this area." She told him.

"Let us." Redom agreed. He stumbled past Ebony, making his way towards the exit of the alleyway slowly. Ebony watched him lean heavily against the brick wall for support.

"Come on," she started as she walked up next to him, "lean on me." She told him, taking his arm and putting it around her neck.

"I don't need any help." Redom said defensively, pulling his arm away. Ebony threw him an annoyed glance,

"Do you think I'm going to let you stumble around, wounded, with me walking behind you like a useless idiot?"

"Yes."

"Well too bad." She took his arm again and placed it over her shoulders, "Get used to it." Her tone of voice indicated that the discussion was over.

Ebony was thankful that the weather had started to look bad. That way, there weren't many people or cars on the street. She couldn't imagine how people would react if they saw her helping a blood soaked Redom down the sidewalk.

They arrived at the Devil May Cry in a handful of minutes. The first drops of rain bouncing off of their heads. Ebony pushed open one of the doors with her shoulder and helped Redom in. She took the coat off of him, without him making any sort of protest, before she led him over to the sofa and sat him down. She stared down at the coat in her hands,

"This was a beautiful coat." She said to him. Redom nodded his head slowly. He then lay back, sinking into the sofa. Ebony turned away from him, stepping out to throw away the expensive, non-repairable coat. She walked back in to see that Redom was still bleeding, the blood beginning to stain the red fabric of the sofa.

"Why aren't you healing?" Ebony asked. Redom opened his eyes and looked at her.

"I'm too weak. I've lost much of my strength since we've last met." He explained to her. Ebony frowned,

"Then we'll want to stop the bleeding somehow." She glanced around, "Hopefully Dante has some medical supplies stashed away somewhere." She said out loud. Redom closed his eyes again once Ebony started to search cabinets and drawers. She decided that there might be something useful in the bathroom, so she went in, opening the mirror. She was surprised to see rolls of gauze, wound disinfectant, burn ointment and the like stashed behind it. "I guess it's for when Lady is wounded." She concluded, since Dante wouldn't have much use of the supplies. She figured that she would just need the gauze, since Redom was a demon. She took down a few supplies and went back to the sofa he was at.

"Come on, we're gonna need to wash all that blood off before I can wrap your wounds." She told him. Redom sat up slowly, attempting to stand up by himself. He glared at her when she reached out to help him. Ebony disregarded the death glare he gave her, grasping his arm softly and helping him up.

"You seriously aren't going to help me bathe, are you?" He asked her. Ebony chuckled,

"Only if you want me to." She joked.

Redom stared at her, as if trying to figure out if she was being serious or not.

Ebony rolled her eyes, "Relax, I'm just going to clean out the wounds. You won't even have to take your pants off." She led him into the bathroom,

"May I ask where your brother is?" Redom asked her. Ebony shrugged,

"'Dunno. I think he might be out on a mission." She told him. She motioned for him to sit down on the edge of the tub, which Redom complied to silently. She proceeded to take out a rag and soaked it in warm water from the faucet. She turned to Redom, "You're going to have to take of your vest and shirt." She told him. Redom frowned but remained silent as he unbuttoned his black vest and slid it off. He then unbuttoned the black long sleeved shirt and shrugged it off. Ebony's eyes widened at the wounds inflicted upon Redom's body. Redom looked away, as if ashamed by showing Ebony the wounds that marred his lean, sculpted body. Ebony decided not to say anything. Instead, she sat down next to him on the edge of the bathtub. She began to clean the wounds on his back, blood had begun to dry up around the smaller wounds, but blood continued flowing out of the larger ones.

"Are you willing to tell me what happened during the past few weeks?"

Redom seemed to mull over the words before responding,

"You were right. Mundus is using me. It was difficult to obtain the information, but..." He shifted slightly as Ebony ran the rag down his back, carefully cleaning around the deep wounds in the area,

"Sorry, did that hurt?" She asked, lifting the rag, her brow creased with worry. Redom shook his head, his black hair shifting slightly before settling into the same place as before.

"No, I'm just... confused." Ebony wrung out the rag, blood ran down the bottom of the tub and down the drain. Ebony then stood up to wash the rag in the sink.

"Confused about what?" She asked as she came back to Redom. She knelt down in front of him. Redom watched as Ebony washed the wounds on his arms and chest. His black eyes following her graceful movements,

"I tried to kill you over false beliefs, but you let me live in the end. Why?"

Ebony looked up at Redom's face. Her gaze became thoughtful,

"There are times that people deserve second chances. This was one if those times." She reached up to wipe away the dry blood from a slowly healing wound on his cheek. Redom grasped her delicate wrist in his large hand. Ebony didn't flinch under his crushing grasp,

"Why? How could you know if I deserved a second chance? You say that people deserve a second chance, but I am not human." His voice dropped down an octave.

"You wished for revenge, over your love for Evaline, you cried for her. Demons don't feel that type of love because they have no souls, only humans. That's why I gave you a second chance." Ebony answered simply, without a sign of hesitation. Redom's black eyes stared into Ebony's cerulean ones for a long time, searching for a lie that she could've been telling him, before Redom released his grip on her wrist. Ebony visibly relaxed, her shoulders dropping as she continued cleaning Redom's wounds.

The rest of the time was spent in silence. Soon enough, Ebony finished cleaning all of his wounds. She stood up and washed the rag off in the sink when she decided it was futile and tossed it into the metal trashcan next to the sink. She grabbed the roll of gauze she had taken out along with some pressure bandages. She sat next to him on the edge of the bathtub, she expertly placed the pressure bandages on the bleeding wounds as she wrapped his chest and arms with the gauze. When she was done, she stood up and stretched. Redom looked up at her,

"You've finished?" He asked. Ebony nodded her head,

"I'll look through some of Dante's clothes and see if he happens to have anything decent for you to wear. I wouldn't want you to wear the shreds of clothes I found you in." She told him. Redom nodded, Ebony left the bathroom to go upstairs to Dante's room. She searched through his closet until she found a black button up shirt. She decided it was the only nice clean shirt she would find in his mess of a closet. She left his room to give Redom the shirt, when she reached the bottom of the stairs, she felt a powerful demonic aura coming their way. She swore under her breath. Ebony ran to the bathroom and quickly handed Redom the shirt,

"They're getting closer, aren't they?" Redom asked her. Ebony gave him a confirming glance,

"Stay here, you're in no condition to fight." She said to him before leaving the bathroom and grabbing Aerib on her way out, "You're not getting past me." Ebony growled up the empty street. She glanced up at the black clouds as thunder rumbled, the rain hitting her face. She smiled, letting out a soft scoff. "Not anymore." She blocked the blow of something barreling towards her, with Aerib. The force of the attack made her slide back a few inches. She clenched her teeth and shoved the figure back, "So, you must be one of Mundus's hunters." She sneered.

The man was practically a living tank. He stood at probably 6'10 with bulging muscles on his arms and practically no neck. Ebony stared up into the growling face, his red eyes glowering at her. "You look more like a rejected body builder." She taunted.

"I was only ordered to bring Redom, but if I bring you to Mundus as well, he would be most pleased with me." He said to her,

"Big _AND_ stupid. What a great combination. You really think you can beat me?"

"You're a little girl. I don't understand why the others couldn't trap you." The demon rumbled.

"It's because I'm tougher than I look." She responded nonchalantly as she brandished her sword.

"Enough talk!" The demon roared as he leapt forward. Ebony dodged the attack, and then quickly kicked him square in the back, making him stumble. He spun around, lashing out with his arms to try and grab her. His sharp claws grazed her cheek as she leaned back. He swung his arm at her head. She caught his arm in her left hand, shifting her stance to flip the massive demon over her right shoulder. He landed hard enough on the concrete to crack it, a grunt escaping his lungs. She drove her sword down towards his skull, only to have him wrap his meaty hands around the wide blade. He swung his arms forward, flinging Ebony into the air. She let go of Aerib, twisting in mid-air and pulling out her guns from their holsters before landing in a splayed crouch, she watched the demon stand up. Ebony aimed, then pulled the triggers of her guns impossibly fast, each bullet striking the demon in the face. He bellowed as he stumbled back, his hands flying up to cover his face. Taking her chance, she holstered her guns, sprinted forward, and grabbed Aerib a split second before she leapt into the air, her arm extended out in front of her. Aerib pierced through the demons chest, straight through the heart. He fell back, Ebony stood on his chest. She yanked Aerib out, a fountain of blue blood spraying up from the wound.

"There are more of us..." He garbled, "You will be brought before him, and he will use you to-" Blood spurted from his mouth before he fell still. Ebony let out a frustrated sigh,

"That was pointless." She grumbled. She turned away from the corpse to walk up the steps of the Devil May Cry. Suddenly, the corpse let out a powerful demonic aura, followed by excruciating pain that consumed her body. She gasped, glancing down to see a clawed arm protruding from her chest.

"One thing about a hunter is that they will trick the prey." He twisted his arm before yanking it out, making Ebony double over. Red blood splashed on the ground, she coughed up blood, her sword slipping from her fingers as she reached up to clutch at the gaping wound. The demon grabbed her hair, throwing her across the street to smash into a brick wall, all the air from her lungs leaving her. Ebony fell to the ground on her hands and knees, attempting to catch her breath. She heard the heavy footsteps stop before her. She glared up at the demon before her. Aerib was held in his hand, his malicious grin cracking his monstrous face in half as he bent down and clutched her silver hair in his massive hands, holding her up so that she was face to face with him. "Who's the tough one now?" He mocked, his needle-like teeth clacking together. Ebony growled and without warning, she spat in the demons face. His grin morphed into a scowl, "Putrid half-breed!" He roared as he flung her against the wall. He pressed up behind her, his clawed hand applying pressure to her skull against the wall. She closed her eyes tightly as the brick dug into her cheek with the increasing pressure.

"EBONY!" She opened her eyes to see the blurred figure of Redom stumbling down the steps.

"No, you idiot. Stay away." She mumbled under her breath. The pressure on her skull lessened significantly before she collapsed, her head cracking against the ground. Her scream was drowned out by the crack of thunder as she was impaled through the back with Aerib. Her face slammed into the concrete. Her blurred vision watched as the demon walked up to Redom.

"Ebony!" The faint scream reached her, but she didn't know who was calling her name. "You killed her!"

"It was her own doing." Another voice rumbled.

"How dare you."

"You're in no place to judge me." Ebony felt the ground shake, "Besides, she is not dead." She sword in her back was twisted, causing her to writhe, a cry of pain escaping her.

"Stop it." She heard a voice command.

"Or what? You're in no condition to fight me." She saw one of the figures thrown back, "I can kill you easily." Her vision darkened, her consciousness ebbing away.

**OooOooO**

Redom clawed at the large hand wrapped around his throat.

"Mundus will be most pleased." Redom noticed movement behind the demon,

"If you think so." He choked out with a faint smirk. A look of confusion passed over the demons face, when his eyes widened at the surge of power he suddenly felt. His head began to turn when it was suddenly swiped clean off. The headless body crashed to the ground, blood spraying from the torn neck. Redom landed on his feet,

**"One thing about the hunter is that they will trick the prey."**

Redom glanced from the disintegrating corpse to the owner of the two-toned voice. Bright, glowing white eyes stared down at him, multiple sleek white bone plates curved back behind the black, leathery texture of the face, some of them curved down the sides of the face to the chest. His eyes made their way down the creature's body, two black leather wings were folded behind it, the clawed talons gripping the spiny shoulders. Thick, impenetrable armor covered the entirety of its body. In the middle of its chest was a bright silvery light, with silvery vein-like lines stretching out from that center to all ends of the black armored body. Slender, muscled arms and hands with long cruel looking talons rested beside bony plates protruding upwards from where the hip was. The muscled legs were covered with thick, sharp plates of armor skin. The feet ended with curved talons and the heel was slightly raised.

**"Demon, you dare stand before me?"** The strange two-toned creature rumbled.

"Ebony?" Redom stared at the majestic demon. It raised a ridged eyebrow at him,

**"Ebony?" **The glowing white eyes looked up at the brick wall above him. Redom watched the demon before him cautiously. Suddenly, wall next to him exploded as she punched it, her face nearing his. **"You think you have the right to speak that name?"** She growled, her scorching breath hitting his face.

"Ebony, it's me, Redom." Ebony growled, lifting a leathery lip to show two rows of pearl white, razor sharp teeth.

"EBONY!" A deep voice cut through the air, making Ebony turn her head towards the speaker of the voice. Redom turned his head to the left to see Dante sprinting down the street. He collided into Ebony's side, the force caused the devil siblings to slam into the ground. Redom watched Dante wrestle the devil triggered Ebony, the upper hand switching between the two. Dante finally managed to pin her down, holding down her hands. "Ebony, get a hold of yourself!" He yelled in her face. Ebony roared, attempting to snap at him. Dante calmly leaned back, he let go of one of her hands and punched her in face, hard enough to make Redom wince. Her head snapped to the right, and she lay still. Dante watched her blink her white eyes slowly before turning her head to look up at him, the rain sliding across her leathery skin.

**"Dante?"** Dante showed a small smirk and nodded his head. Ebony's head fell to the side which was followed by a black flash. Dante stared down at his unconscious sister. Her hair was wet from the rain and plastered around her face. He looked down to see her torn, bloody sweater with a frown.

"Is she..."

"She's fine." Dante assured Redom. He got off of Ebony and picked up Aerib, holstered it on his back with Rebellion before bending down to lift Ebony up in his arms without any effort, her head resting against his shoulder.

"How did she manage to heal that wound? You could see right through it!"

"Our wounds tend to heal completely when we transform." Dante explained to him. "But the very first time we trigger takes all the energy out of us." He looked Redom over, "You're wounded, aren't you?"

Redom raised an eyebrow, "How did you know?"

"Well, first off, the way you're standing gives it away. Second, the smell of blood. Third... Isn't that my shirt?" Dante nodded his head to the shirt Redom was wearing. Redom straightened,

"Yes, your sister took care of my wounds and gave me this shirt to wear."

Dante scoffed, "I figured." He said. The rain began pelting them even harder than before, " At least the rain will wash away the blood." He glanced at Redom. "Let's go back inside." Dante said as he headed towards the agency.

Once they were inside, Dante went straight to the sofa and carefully set Ebony down. He straightened and took the two swords off his back to hang them on the wall. He then walked to the refrigerator in the kitchen, opening it to grab a beer. "Do you want one?" He offered. Redom shook his head, Dante nodded. After closing the door, he walked over to stand next to his desk. "So what brings you back around these parts? And why is it that Ebony was triggered when I showed up?" He asked him, leaning against his desk and cracking open the beer can to take a swig.

"I'm being hunted by Mundus, one of them found me. Ebony took him on, was wounded, but won. Also I-" A contemplative look crossed his face, "I came to ask for you and your sisters help." Redom said. Dante raised a silver brow,

"Help?" He repeated, "Why would you need our help?"

Redom leaned against the metal door frame and folded his arms across his chest, "Did you know that Mundus keeps a prison?"

Dante's brows furrowed, a frown contorting his face, "Why the hell would he keep a prison? Why doesn't he just kill them?"

"That's exactly what I thought. So I began listening to the whispers in the shadows. I found out that Mundus uses that prison to keep demons, or whatever he keeps locked there, that can be useful to him in the future." Dante stared at him,

"So what does this have to do with anything?" He asked.

"Evaline is being kept prisoner there." Redom dropped his arms to his side to help him push off the door frame. Dante saw the desperation in his eyes as he stood before him, "Please, I must save her." Dante stared at Redom before taking a couple gulps of beer. He looked down at the can and turned it in his hand.

"And how are you planning on busting her out?" He glanced up at the black demon.

Redom shifted his weight, "I have yet to come up with a plan." He said out loud. Dante tsked before drinking the rest of his beer and crushing the can in his hand. He then tossed the crushed piece of metal over his shoulder hearing it clatter into the trash can.

"We'd help, but we can't really go in there guns a blazing."

"Isn't that what you usually do?" Redom asked. Dante tilted his head back,

"Hmm... I guess Ebony's tacticalness is rubbing off on me." Dante scoffed, "I know she wouldn't let us go in without some sort of plan. She's a stubborn one."

"How long would you say until she wakes up?" Redom questioned. Dante glanced over at Ebony's sleeping figure,

"Hours, maybe I would say around 4 to 6 hours."

"I believe that that is enough time to come up with something." Redom said quickly. Dante smirked,

"Just what I was thinking."

**OooOooO**

Redom looked over the plan he had conducted. Dante had watched from his position next to Ebony at what Redom had drawn and written down on the large sheet of paper.

"So that's all the stuff you found out about the prison?" Dante queried. Redom gave a curt nod before holding out the large roll of paper to Dante. He walked over, took it, rolled it out and stared down at it.

"Of course not everything is accurate, and not everything will go the way it's planned."

Dante rolled the paper up before he spread his arms,

"Hey, it's a start." He assured Redom. He walked over to his desk only to drop the rolled up paper, letting it precariously dangle on the edge, and picked up the entire rotary dial phone. Placing the receiver to his ear, he spun the dial.

"What are you doing?" Redom asked. Dante glanced up at him after he had spun the last number.

"It's getting late, and I'm hungry so I'm ordering pizza." He said matter-of-factly.

Redom opened his mouth to say something when Dante held up a finger, "Yeah, it's Dante. Can I get the usual?" A moment of silence as the person on the other end responded, "My tab?" Dante turned to the side, keeping Redom in sight, "Yeah, I'll pay it. Don't sweat the small stuff." His brow furrowed, "Come on, just wait until the end of the month." Dante grinned, "Yeah, oh! And don't forget. NO. OLIVES." He dictated carefully, "Last time you brought my pizza, I couldn't tell if it was pizza with olives, or olives with pizza." He nodded to himself, "Thanks." He hung up the phone with a twinkle in his eye, "Man, I'm starving. Hope they hurry." He set the antique phone back on his desk.

"You actually eat?" Redom asked. Dante raised an eyebrow at him,

"Whaddya mean by that? Of course I eat!"

"I was told that you feasted upon your fallen enemies."

Dante grimaced, "Gross."

"I take it that you don't?"

"Yeah, you demons need to get your facts straight. I eat pizza and strawberry sundaes. No eating 'flesh of my fallen enemy' here." Dante air quoted.

A look of amusement crossed Redom's face, "I'll be sure to tell them so when I return." He chuckled.

A small groan emanated from Ebony, drawing both Dante and Redom's attention to her figure. Dante was instantly next to her. Ebony blinked her eyes groggily before they focused on the red-devil.

"Dante?"

"Hiya sis. Took you long enough to wake up." He grinned. Ebony slowly sat up to rub her face.

"What happened?" She asked aloud.

"You don't remember?" Redom asked. Ebony turned her head to Redom,

"I remember dressing your wounds." Her face contorted into one of confusion, "And the demon. We fought and then..." Her eyes widened in a moment of realization as she clutched her chest and looked down. "He, he stabbed me." Her brows furrowed, "It's gone."

Dante placed a hand on her shoulder, "You devil triggered." He explained to her. Ebony looked up at her older brother.

"For the first time?" She asked.

Dante nodded.

"You were knocked out for a good 5 hours." Dante told her.

"Hmm, no wonder I feel so... Energized." She popped her neck, followed by a loud growl from her stomach, causing Ebony to laugh, "And hungry."

Dante grinned, dropping his hand from her shoulder, "Well, you're in luck, there's a pizza on its way here right now."

"Why am I not surprised?" Ebony stood up and stretched her arms above her head. She dropped them with a sigh before looking at Redom, "How are your wounds?" She asked him. Redom glanced down,

"They've healed." He glanced up at Ebony, "And how do you fare?" Ebony played with her ripped top with a look of chagrin.

"My wounds have healed too. My shirt is a different story though." She smiled meekly. "So what were you boys up to while I was out?"

"Well, fancy pants here managed to find out that his girl is still alive." Dante jabbed a finger in Redom's direction.

"Really?" Ebony smiled at the black demon, "That's great! Where is she?"

"That's the issue," Redom sighed, "She's being kept prisoner."

Redom explained to her and Dante everything he had managed to discover, he also explained his method to free her in explicit detail. He was in the middle of explaining to Ebony how his plan would work when they were interrupted by a knock at the door, which drew the attention of the three devils. "Redom and I not presentable," Ebony started, she walked over to Redom, grabbed his arm and continued, "I'm just going to go take Redom's bandages off."

"Uh huh... Sure..." Dante wagged his eyebrows at her. Ebony gave her elder brother the evil eye.

"Don't even say a word." She snapped. Dante laughed heartily. A baffled look came across Redom's face as the slender girl pulled him along with her into the bathroom with a strength one would not expect from a person her size. Dante shook his head before turning to the door as another knock came from it.

"I'm comin'!" Irritated, he strode over to the door and pulled it open to see the small pizza boy standing before him. The pizza boy lifted his cap to gaze up at the tall red devil.

"Here's your pizza sir." He held out the box, Dante grinned and reached out to grab it. The boy pulled back slightly,

"I'll need the money first Mr. Dante." He told him. Dante's eye twitched.

"I told them to put it on my tab." He said pointedly. The boy shook his head, which made his brown hair fall into his eyes,

"They told me to tell you that your tab is full, and that you have to pay this pizza."

Dante's eyes narrowed at the skinny boy before him.

"Just open another one then." He argued, reaching once more for the pizza. The boy maneuvered it just out of his reach.

"I can't do that. I'm just the delivery boy." He told him.

Dante lifted his lip in irritation,

"Wait here." He growled. He turned his back to the delivery boy and walked over to the bathroom door. "Hey sis, do you happen to have any money on ya?" He called out.

"Yeah, it's in my wallet that's in my backpack next to your desk." Came the muffled reply. Dante looked over to see said backpack and walked over to it. He unzipped it and began to sift through its contents.

"Holy hell... It's like a black hole in here." He grumbled to himself. After a few minutes of searching, he found her wallet. He walked over to the waiting delivery boy. "Here's the money." He said rather harshly. He slapped the money into the boys waiting palm, then took the pizza box out of his hand.

"Hey! What about my tip?" The boy whined.

"Sorry, it's not my money to give." Dante closed the door, and then looked at the pizza in his hands. "Hello gorgeous, I've been waiting for you." He cooed.

"Dante, are you talking to the pizza again?" Dante glanced up to see his sister standing in the bathroom doorway, her hands planted on her hips.

"Psh, no. I don't talk to food." Dante stated. Ebony nodded, her eyes glinted with mirth,

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night Dante." She added mockingly. Dante stuck his tongue out at her as he opened the pizza box, the childish gesture making Ebony roll her eyes. "Just want to let you know that we'll be helping Redom, his plan seems solid enough that we'll be able to go through with it. Get ready to leave in a few days."

"Aw, hell no." Dante groaned. Ebony raised an eyebrow at her brother's reaction.

"What?"

Dante looked up. His eyes almost seemed to glimmer with unshed tears.

"They put olives on my pizza."

* * *

_Thank you for reading!_ _I hope you guys enjoyed it! And please review, it really does motivate me to write :D I will give you whatever food you wish for! Hahaha :)_


	8. Chapter 8

_I'm so so so so so so soooo sorry about this delay! I've been completely swamped by everything in my life, and everything is still so hectic. And on top of that, I think my computer is about to explode, because it's been making some strange sounds lately... So I haven't gone on it much, but I typed this up on my phone, so I hope there aren't too many mistakes since I didn't have much time to read over it._

_Thank you so much to those who have followed my story and reviewed, you all have a special place in my heart!_

**_Cereza101: _**_Hur hur, this story is full of surprises, trust me :) I'm so glad that you're enjoying it, thank you so much for reviewing my dear!_

**_Amon Delacroix:_**_ Thank you so much for reviewing, and I'll try to update this story faster. Thank you so much for sticking with my sporadic updates so far!__  
_

_And now, onward into the next chapter! Ebony out._

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Ebony fixed the black leather jacket Dante had lent her to hide the bloodied sweater, before she pushed open the door to her house. The delicious smell of food and comforting warmth invited her in.

"Welcome back young mistress." Desmond bowed. His gloved hand rested upon his chest. Ebony closed the door behind her, before turning to nod at the young butler,

"Thank you Desmond." She continued past Desmond, the young butler followed close behind. "Where is Mother?"

"She is on a business trip. She will not be returning for a week." Desmond responded.

Ebony frowned. She would have to leave for the journey if she didn't want to risk Emily finding out about her absence. She didn't know how many days she would spend looking for Evaline.

_'Dante, we're going to need a change of plan. Do you think we could leave tonight?'_

_'Can I fit in a strawberry sundae before we leave?'_

_'Yes, I won't be coming over until I get all this blood off me and prepare some things.'_

She felt an agreeable answer before she spoke out loud,

"I'll be leaving in a few hours. I don't know when I'll be back."

"What would you wish me to tell the Mistress?" Desmond asked.

Ebony's eye twitched. She stopped to turn around and look at the butler. His brown eyes looked down at her,

"I would rather you not tell her about my leave. I wouldn't want her to worry."

The question was in his eyes, but he knew better than to ask, "Very well. I will do as you request."

Ebony smiled, "Thank you Desmond." Desmond nodded before bowing and turning away from her.

Ebony quickly made her way to her room. She closed the door behind her and dropped her backpack at the foot of her bed. She walked into the bathroom, turned on the shower and began to peel off her bloody clothes. Once she had stepped into the shower, she began to scrub vigorously at the dried blood on her body. She stayed in the shower until the water began to run cold.

She had barely put on a new set of clothes when she heard the bell chime. She glanced at the clock in confusion.

_'She's on a rampage, Watch out.'_

Ebony's brows furrowed, _'Who-'_

Her question was interrupted by the sound of combat boots thumping against the ground. Ebony turned towards the door in surprise as it burst open, her raven-haired friend barreling through. Ebony could swear that she heard her neck crack from how hard the woman was shaking her.

"You idiot, you don't even know this demon, yet you're going to risk your life to save a girl that he could be lying about? And in the Demon World? That's Mundus's territory! You can't just go around promising stuff like that, what if you get hurt? What if Mundus finds you? What if you die? How do you think Dante will react? What if this is all a trap? Ebony, use your brain! That demon isn't telling you the truth. He's probably still working under Mundus's command! And how long-"

Ebony's long fingers curled around Lady's wrists.

"Calm down Lady. I'll be fine." She reassured the frantic woman. "I can take care of myself, and whatever I can't take care of, I'll have Dante covering my back."

Lady's blue and red eyes disappeared behind her lids, her hair fluttered as she shook her head.

"I don't trust that demon Ebony. I think he's hiding something."

"He's been telling the truth about everything so far." Ebony shrugged. Lady stared at her with disbelief.

"How can you trusting?" She asked. Ebony blinked before giving her friend a close-eyed smile,

"I guess that's just a flaw that I have." Ebony let out a small gasp when she toppled over onto her bed.

"Stop it! Stop acting like trusting people is ok!" Lady reprimanded.

"Lady-"

"Trusting people is what gets you killed! Trust is what got your family killed! Your trust in Vergil is what almost got you killed, and Dante thought he could trust Vergil, but in the end he had to kill him!"

It wasn't until after she had those words when she realized what she said.

Ebony visibly flinched. She stood up, pointing at the door, "Leave, Lady." She said hoarsely.

"Ebony I-"

Ebony smiled softly, "I know. I just need to finish preparing for the travel to the demon world."

"So in the end, I still didn't change your mind?"

Ebony shook her head, "Nope."

Lady punched Ebony on the shoulder, "Then you better give those bastards hell, just for me."

Ebony curtly nodded, "I will."

The brunettes features softened, "I'm sorry about what I said, I really am."

Ebony shook her head, "Don't worry about it. I understand your concern." She turned away from the devil huntress.

"What should I tell Kayshia and Zack if they ask?" Lady queried.

Ebony shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, tell them I went on a vacation or something similar. Just don't make them worry about me." She chuckled.

"Well then, you better bring me back a souvenir." Ebony glanced back and saw Lady punch a fist into her open hand, "Because I know where you sleep."

Ebony snorted at the weak threat. "What would I even bring? 'Here's the head of a demon!'"

Lady rolled her eyes, "At least make sure that Dante doesn't do anything stupid."

"I can't guarantee that." Ebony responded with a shake of her head.

Lady shook her head before waving as she turned to leave the room, "Just promise that you two will come back in one piece."

"That, I can promise." She heard Ebony say. Once Lady closed the door to her room, Ebony's smile morphed into a frown. She plopped down onto her bed, her fingers twined together. Was she truly making the right decision? And was she actually willing to skip school just to save a demon? Ebony scowled, Redom had been telling the truth so far, but she wasn't sure that they would come out of the demon world unscathed. She shook her head and stood, they had to try.

**OooOooO**

Dante placed the empty tulip cup in the grimy sink.

"That was good." He sighed in satisfaction. He saw a bit of whipped cream coating his finger, so he brought out up to his lips and sucked it off. He walked back into the main room.

"Aren't you too old to be sucking on your thumb, Dante?"

There was a loud pop as Dante pulled out his thumb. He glanced over to see Ebony with a hand on her hip.

"Don't act like you don't do it anymore." He joked, his trademark smirk curling his lips.

He saw Ebony toss him something. Quickly snatching it out of the air, he looked down to study the object.

"Eb, what's this?" He inquired, holding up the small object.

"It's a charm. It will mask our auras from the demons." She pushed up her sleeve to show a plain silver bracelet. Dante looked down at his charm. It was a coin with the insignia of a crown on both sides. "It's an antique." Ebony explained, "Make sure you keep it on your person at all times."

Dante nodded before placing the coin in his pocket. Ebony glanced around.

"Where's Redom?" She asked, turning back to the red devil.

"Said he was gonna change clothes. Dunno when he'll be back though."

Ebony nodded, "So, quick question, how did Lady find out about our trip to Demon World?" She crossed her arms, her foot tapped lightly on the ground as she gave Dante a pointed glare.

"Ah, well, you see, that's a long story, you wouldn't wanna know." Dante tried.

"Humor me." Came Ebony's flat voice.

Dante scratched the back of his neck, "Ahem... Uhh, well, Lady sometimes comes here when my shop is about to close to offer me some crappy job. She came when you left, and offered a job. I told her that I couldn't help her, she got mad and threatened to shoot me if I didn't tell her why, so I spilled." Dante sighed, "She still shot me though." He rubbed his forehead, "That woman, I swear..." He frowned, "I figured she was gonna go to your house, so I tried to warn you."

"Yeah, I didn't know who you were taking about though." Ebony huffed. She walked past Dante to grab Aerib.

Dante turned to follow her and shrugged, "Didn't have time."

Ebony gave her sword a few test swings before she pointed it at the red devil.

"Do you have time for a spar then?" She smirked.

Dante threw his head back and laughed. He looked back down at Ebony with a gleeful grin as he pulled out his black leather gloves and slipped them on. Flexing his fingers, he lifted his arm, Rebellion flew to him and his gloved hand gripped the warm handle of his sword. He fluidly brought it before him, "Try not to break the merchandise." He taunted.

"I'm not making any promises." Ebony replied. She dashed forward, aiming her sword at Dante's arm. He knocked the blade aside, followed by a riposte. Ebony side rolled the attack, only to have to bring up her sword over her head as Rebellion descended upon her. Her arm shook slightly as the swords clashed. Ebony shoved it away, making Dante jump back. She stood and ran her hand through her long hair.

"Come on Eb, you can do better than that!" He barked out.

Ebony glanced at her older sibling, "I'm only just starting." She chuckled.

Dante gave her a toothy grin, "Well then, I won't hold back."

He rushed forward, a powerful blow aimed at his sister. She blocked the blow with Aerib, a tailgate of wind sending the papers in the room up in a flurry.

Ebony shoved Rebellion away, creating an opening for her to run towards him. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she brought him to the ground. A loud grunt came from Dante as his head smacked against the hard wood floor. Ebony straddled his waist, lifted her fist and came down for his face. Dante caught it in his left hand. He released Rebellion and gripped her hip and shoved her off of him. He rolled away and leapt back up, his red coat flapping around him. He held out his hand and Rebellion responded by flying toward its master.

Ebony was already on her feet and attacking the red devil. A flurry of attacks struck against his sword. They came to an equally powered attack, which made the swords grind against each other.

Dante silently chuckled to himself as he started to push back his sister. He saw her grit her teeth as she made an attempt to push back against him but failed. Dante visibly grinned at her before he pushed her off the ground. Her legs hit his desk and made her topple over it. A loud crash followed as she fell off of the desk. She had caught herself and fell onto her knees before spinning on the ground, her leg stretched out and catching her brother behind the knee. As he fell, she stood and pointed Aerib at his throat.

"Give up yet?" She panted.

Dante grinned up at her, "Come on! The fun's only beginning!" He cried out gleefully as he shoved the sword away with his gloved hand. Ebony stepped back as he stood up. Dante flexed his unoccupied hand towards her, "Well, bring it on." He taunted. Ebony's lip twitched before she violently chucked her sword at him at the same time Dante did. They dodged the main focus of the attack, but not without the blade slashing through their arms.

Ebony gripped the wound on her upper arm as warm blood splashed onto the ground.

"Getting serious now, are we not?" She called out.

"You wanna give up yet Eb?" Dante asked.

Ebony gave a breathy laugh, "You're really funny. Did you know that?"

Dante grinned, "I try." They ran at each other and collided, Dante punched her across the face, splitting her lip. Ebony fell back before she sent a round house kick to his head. His head snapped to the right, he stared at the wall before looking back at his sister.

She spat out the blood in her mouth, the split lip already healed. She glanced towards Aerib. If she could find a way to get to it…

"To hell with it." She growled. She ran towards it, ducking down as Dante made a grab for her. She slid across the ground and managed to grab Aerib as she slowed to a stop and spun towards her brother. She looked up to see Dante staring at something behind her. She glanced back to see Redom standing at the open door. His eyes watched them in silent awe.

"How long have ya been standing there?" Dante asked as he wiped his brow.

"Long enough. I first believed that you were truly fighting over something serious."

Ebony stood up with a small laugh, "No, we tend to fight as a way to pass the time, especially when we're bored."

Redom cleared his throat, "I pity those foolish enough to challenge you."

Ebony and Dante glanced at each other with a small smirk playing on their lips.

Redom watched the siblings with interest, "Shall we take our leave?" He queried. Ebony sheathed her sword, "Let's."

Redom held the door open for her as she stepped out. They waited for Dante to grab his sword and turn off the lights of the shop.

"I'm still peeved that I'm not gonna get paid for this." He grumbled as he walked out.

"I greatly appreciate that you are assisting me." Redom offered.

Dante scoffed, "When we get out there, you owe me."

Redom bowed, "Of course. Anything to pay back the siblings of Sparda."

"So do we happen to have any idea as to how we're going to get into the demon world?" Ebony questioned. The siblings turned to Redom, "Redom, you're the one that entered and came back. How did you do it?"

"I created a portal with my demonic power."

"Really? You can do that?" Dante asked.

Redom nodded once, "Only problem is that I'm temporarily weakened."

"How long we talkin' about?"

"A couple of hours. I believe it would be safe to say that it will take around 5 hours for my complete recuperation."

"Are you sure you can take the stress? The way you looked earlier…" Ebony's mouth twisted into a frown.

"I am willing to risk my life to save Evaline." Redom declared.

Ebony nodded, "Alright then. We're counting on you Redom." She took a step back from Redom and Dante followed suit. They watched as the demon before them lifted his hand. He bowed his head and they watched as his lips moved in a silent incantation. The results were instant, there was a bright flash as the air before him seemed to melt away into a black abyss.

Ebony saw Redom slump over slightly, "Hey, are you alright?"

Redom nodded his head, "Yes. There is no need to concern yourself."

Dante clicked his tongue, "Well we better go through before it closes."

Redom nodded in agreement and turned to the portal. He was about to step through when Ebony stopped him.

"Wait, I almost forgot." She dug around in her pocket before pulling out a ring, "This is for you. Since you're on one of their wanted lists, I figured you would need one. This way, the demons won't recognize your aura."

Redom held out an upturned palm and let her press the ring into it.

"You have my thanks." He replied as he slid the ring on.

Ebony gave him a small nod and turned to look at the portal, "This is going to be interesting." She murmured. Before anyone could say anything, she stepped through.

"Ebony!" Dante called out as he followed his sister through the portal with Redom close behind. He stopped once he walked through, Ebony stood with her back to them.

There was a rush of air as the portal sealed up behind them. Dante glanced back, "Guess we're not goin' back that way." He turned back to the eerie landscape. The red water splashed under his feet as he stepped next to Ebony. He stared at the once beautiful sculptures, now broken and reaching towards the sea of darkness that served as a crude imitation of a sky.

"This is Hell?" Ebony whispered.

"Indeed it is." Redom responded, "Welcome to my home." He stepped forward slowly. His leather boots dragged through the liquid, "Come, there is no time to waste."

Ebony unconsciously shuddered under the palpable evil that surrounded the trio. "The sooner we get out of here, the better." She said bitterly as she followed Redom.

"Looks like we started a few circles in." Dante observed as he walked beside Ebony.

"I attempted to take us as far as I could without exerting too much of my energy." Redom explained, "I wish to be of some use, and not a burden."

"That's helpful. We wouldn't be able to promise your safety." Ebony told him.

"As long as you can protect your ass if demons decide to pop up, I'm fine with that. I'm hate babysitting." Dante said.

Redom let out a low chuckle, "I believed that that would be the case."

The crimson water splashed softly with every step they took as they walked through the broken statues.

"Hey Dante, how did you know that Redom had skipped a few circles?"

Dante remained silent for a few minutes before answering, "I've been here before, before I fought against Vergil."

Ebony glanced down at the water, "Oh…"

Dante glanced down at Ebony's bowed head before patting her on the head, "Don't get distracted sis, wouldn't want 'cha to trip." He said glibly.

Redom watched them, silently before speaking, "We are approaching the entrance to the next circle. They tend to be heavily guarded, make sure you are aware of your surroundings."

They arrived before a black void that seemed to absorb the darkness around it.

"Your charms aren't gonna make us invisible to the demons right?" Dante questioned.

Ebony shook her head, "I haven't been able to master it. Sorry."

Dante grinned as he unsheathed Rebellion, "Looks like this is gonna be one hell of a party then."

**OooOooO**

Lady was interrupted from her book by a loud knock on the door. She placed the textbook on a table and stood begrudgingly from the plush armchair.

"Damn people coming to harass me… on a school night nonetheless." She growled as she walked to the door. She yanked open the door, about to bitch out whoever had the balls to come annoy her, when a flash of golden hair gave her pause.

"Trish?"

"You aren't busy, are you?" The blonde demon asked indifferently as she brushed by Lady and entered the large apartment. Lady's hererochromic eyes followed Trish as she comfortably sat on the arm of the armchair and crossed her legs. She reached over and picked up the textbook Lady had been reading.

"AP statistics." She read out-loud. Trish glanced up at Lady, "You weren't really reading this boring old thing, were you?"

Lady yanked it out of her hand, "So what if I was?" She huffed and held the book under her arm. Trish's eyes sparkled in amusement, which in turn made Lady scowl, "What are you doing here anyways?" She asked the she-devil. Trish stood up and went to study the books in a bookcase. She pulled one out, opened it and began to flip through the pages.

"What if I just wanted have a little girl-to-girl talk?" She chuckled. Lady set the textbook on the plush seat, regarding the woman before her.

"Come on Trish, I doubt that you came by just to gossip and look at my books."

"You saw right through me." Her lips pulled up to a smile, "Alright then, I was wondering if you knew where Dante went. I passed by Devil May Cry, but he wasn't there. When I followed his aura, it suddenly disappeared in front of his shop." She closed the book and set it back on the shelf before turning to the brunette.

Lady nodded her head, "Yeah, I don't know when they'll be back. Ebony said that it would probably take a week."

"Where did they go?" Trish repeated.

"They went to the demon world."

"Really now?" Trish folded her arms across her chest, "How exciting. It's been years since I've last seen that place."

"What was it like?" Lady asked.

Trish grimaced, "You wouldn't want to know. It's an ugly place, no place for a human."

"That bad?"

Trish nodded, "You're lucky you don't have to ever worry about seeing the demon world. Just stick to killing them in the human world." Trish told her.

"As long as I can keep tearing those bastards apart, I don't give a damn where they came from."

Trish's red lips pulled up in a smile, "That's a good Lady."

Lady threw her a pointed glare, "You're lucky I like you, Trish."

"You just don't want to get on Dante's bad side."

Lady bristled, "Look here, I don't like that moron, he can go to hell for all I care."

Trish's smile turned into a sly grin, "When did I ever say that you liked him?" She asked coyly. Trish watched in amusement as Lady's face went red and she began to sputter.

"I just want to make it clear with you that I hate the man!" She blurted out before turning and stomping away from the blond woman.

Trish watched Lady go into the next room before calling out, "I hope they survive."

Lady slowly stepped back out, "What is that supposed to mean?" She queried.

Trish's heels clicked on the wooden floor as she walked over to the sofa, "Oh yes, you don't know what the demon world is like, do you?" She teased.

Lady scowled, "Trish, don't play with me. What did you mean by that? Are they going to get hurt?"

"I doubt that they will. But then again, the demon world is much different than your human world." Trish sat on the sofa and crossed her legs. She watched Lady shift in place, "You're dying to know now, aren't you?" She smirked.

Lady folded her arms, "So what if I'm curious?" She said defensively.

"There's nothing wrong with a human being curious. Would you like me to tell you what certain parts of the demon world are like?"

Lady leaned against a desk nearby, "Please do."

Trish smirked at the response.

**OooOooO**

Ebony blinked against the bright lights in contrast to the darkness they had come from. When her eyes finally adjusted, she scanned the area. Dante and Redom were standing next to her.

"Well, when I said party, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind." Dante grumbled.

Ebony looked over Dante, he wore a crimson suit with a golden tie, the tailcoat seemed to flare out like folded wings and a majestic, terrifying, metallic black and red demonic mask covered his face. Dante glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, "Nice mask." He commented. Ebony reached up and touched the mask resting on her face.

"It seems we are in the circle of Avarice." Redom said. Dante and Ebony turned to the black demon. He wore a black tux, lined in gold with a black bird mask. Thin, gold lines accentuated the features around the eyes and beak.

"Avarice?" Ebony echoed. She looked around, thousands upon thousands of people danced around them. Some had drinks in their hands, which shone with gaudy jewelry.

'No, not people… demons.' Ebony thought. She took a step forward, only to fumble on the hem of the black and silver dress and trip. She felt a strong hand grip her arm and yank her back up before she fell too far.

"You might wanna be careful with that thing." Dante said, motioning to the dress. Ebony nodded and straightened herself out.

"Where did our weapons go?" She asked once she noticed Aerib wasn't on her back.

"The gatekeeper must have taken them." Redom responded.

"Oh, that's nice of them." Ebony grumbled, "I take it that we're supposed to get rid if this gatekeeper to get back our weapons?"

"I would suggest tricking him into returning your weapons. Then killing him." Redom suggested.

"And how are we gonna to do that?" Dante asked.

Before Redom could answer, a woman in a beautiful blue dress had swept Redom away into a dance. Dante and Ebony watched as he disappeared into the sea of demons. They glanced at each other before Dante shrugged, "Might as well go with the flow for now." He said as he took Ebony's hand and placed his other hand on the small of her back.

"You're right." Ebony mumbled as she placed her free hand on the expensive red fabric on his shoulder.

"Make sure ya don't biff it in that dress." Dante chuckled.

Ebony frowned, "Oh heshup." She hissed.

Dante gave her his trademark lopsided grin.

"Come on sis, you know you always sucked at walking around in those dresses."

"Just keep an eye out for the gatekeeper." She grumbled. Dante spun her, making her stumble slightly.

"Don't do that!" She berated.

"Told you. You suck at walking in those." He teased.

"This is not the time or place. We need to find the gatekeeper and Redom, get our weapons back and continue on." Ebony hissed, "I don't want to stay here longer than we need to."

"Alrighty then…" Dante grumbled, "Spoilsport."

Ebony rolled her eyes at him and returned to scanning the dancing figures around them from over Dante's shoulder. They wove through the crowd in accordance to the music that filled the air.

"See anything?" She asked.

"I've got zip on my area. You?"

Ebony shook her head, "Nothing."

The orchestra went silent and everyone in the room fell still. Dante and Ebony stopped dancing,

_"What's going on? Why did the music stop?"_

_"Don't ask me. It's not like I'm one to complain, damn music was putting me to sleep."_

Ebony rolled her eyes and let go of Dante's hand. She turned to search the crowd when she realized that they were forming an aisle. They had also begun to chatter among themselves, Ebony eavesdropped on some of the things they were saying.

"He's so handsome, and rich."

"Oh what I wouldn't give to have the amounts of money he owned."

"Some say he sleeps on a bed of money."

Ebony stopped listening quickly, _"Who are they even talking about?"_

_"Dunno, why don't 'cha ask the fancy dude coming down the stairs?"_

She turned to look at the stairs Dante spoke of to see a man in black and golden clothes descend from the stairs. His mask was beautiful, the golden metal intricately woven so that it covered half of his face, and rose up like a crown. Long, black hair cascaded down his back and golden eyes scanned the crowd hungrily.

_"How much ya wanna bet that crown's made out of real gold?"_

_"Makes me wonder if his clothes are too."_ She heard Dante respond with a soft chuckle.

_"I believe we've found our demon."_

_"Sweet, let's get rid of h-"_

_"Dante, I don't want this to get out of hand. We don't know how much longer we have to travel to get to the prison. I don't want us to tire ourselves out in the very first few hours."_

Dante frowned, _"Come on Eb, they're weaklings. We can take them."_

Ebony shook her head, _"Not now. Right now we just need to worry about getting to the prison, and getting back out."_

_"Goddamn it Eb, do ya always have to ruin the fun?"_

Ebony pursed her lips, _"I'm sorry."_ Dante watched as she turned away from him and walked into the conglomerate of fabrics and colors. Dante grit his teeth before looking up at the golden man to see his golden eyes following someone in the crowd.

'I'm gonna do things my way then.' He thought to himself as he pushed his way through the crowd until he reached the edge of the line to watch the gatekeeper walk down the aisle that had been made for him.

"I wonder who he will ask to dance with him." He heard a woman whisper,

"He never asks anyone to dance. And don't bother asking him for one, he'll turn you down flat." A male voice replied.

"Get over it." He mumbled. He turned his gaze to the gatekeeper when he realized he wasn't in sight anymore. Dante scanned the dancing floor for any sign of the man fruitlessly, he had lost him.

"Dammit." He hissed under his breath.

**OooOooO**

Ebony walked through the crowd for any sign of Redom, but she never saw the black demon.

'Where could he have gone?' She thought as she made a full 360.

"Did he honestly get lost already?" She said out loud to herself. She let out a frustrated sigh and turned around again only to crash into a solid object. She blinked and lifted her cerulean eyes to meet golden ones.

The person she had bumped into cocked his head, "We're you looking for someone?" He asked.

"Ah, no. Please excuse me for my clumsiness." She made to pass the man before her but he blocked her. Ebony glared at the man before she spun on her heel and left him standing alone among the dancing shadows.

Ebony didn't stop walking. She risked a glance over her shoulder. The golden man pushed through couples as he followed her. She swore under her breath and wove through the dancing shadows in an attempt to lose the gatekeeper.

"This is not what I asked for right now." She grumbled as she searched for some sort of hiding place. Thankfully, she managed to find a separate area with black curtains what hung on the walls. She hastened her step, lifting the dress so that she wouldn't trip in it, and went straight to the room. She then walked down a corridor before she pressed herself against the wall and let out a heavy sigh.

"My dear, you truly did not believe that you escaped me. You seem to forget that you are in my realm."

Ebony groaned, "A girl can try."

She caught sight of the golden mask before she actually saw the gatekeeper as he walked down the corridor.

"Now why could someone of such beauty as yourself, hide away from the world?" He asked.

"Maybe it's because I don't want to be here." Ebony grumbled as she stepped out. The man's lips twisted up into an unnerving smile. He held out a hand toward her and she eyed it warily, "Umm, what are you doing with that?" She asked, pointing to the offered hand.

"It would be rude not to accept my offer." He purred.

"What offer?"

"Why, the opportunity to dance with me of course." He chuckled darkly. Ebony watched the man's eyes behind the mask. The gatekeeper was actually startled when she burst out laughing.

"Me? Dancing with you? Oh that's the greatest thing I've heard this week!" She continued laughing. The gatekeeper watched her curiously from behind his mask. "Ah, well thanks for that. I'm just going to go find my friends now. I'll catch you later." She waved as she turned around.

Her eye twitched as the man grabbed her wrist, "I advise you to take up my offer, Ebony."

Ebony glared at the man from out of the corner of her eye.

His thin lips pulled up into a smile, "I would know you anywhere my dear."

"Fine, I'll dance with you." She snapped, yanking her wrist from his grasp.

"I am charmed that you have accepted my offer." He stared at the elaborate black and silver mask, which was both frightening and beautiful, "You will be the envy of all those here."

"Oh joy. And here I was planning on not making a scene." She grimaced.

'At least it'll provide some sort of distraction. Knowing Dante, he's already up to something.'

She was brought out of thought when the golden demon stepped up next to her and held up his gloved hand. Ebony let out an internal sigh before lifting her own hand and placing it in his.

"Just to let you know, I am going to make you look like an idiot."

The demon quirked an eyebrow as they walked down the corridor towards the dancing floor, "And why is that?"

"Have you seen these things I'm wearing? It's a miracle I haven't broken my ankle or something!" Exasperated, she lifted the hem of the dress to show him the stilettos she wore.

He smiled, "There is no need to worry. You will not make either of us look like fools."

"How kind of you to say." Ebony groaned incredulously. She saw the gatekeeper smile before turning his head to the crowd as they stepped out of the hallway. Ebony shifted on her heels uncomfortably as the room fell quiet. The only sound came from the orchestra. The gatekeeper led Ebony out onto the marble dancing floor slowly. She heard people whispering about her, she made an attempt to avoid eye contact with the glowing eyes shadowed behind their masks.

_"Dante, where are you?"_

No reply.

Ebony frowned, the gatekeeper glanced at her.

"Now why would such an expression mar your beautiful face?"

Ebony inwardly rolled her eyes at the flattery, "Nothing you need to know about." She remarked.

She almost tripped as he yanked her around until she stood in front of him, pulling her close to him with his hand placed on her lower back.

"Keeping secrets from me?" He growled, his eyes flashing a brilliant red.

"How can I keep something from you that I don't even know about?" She hissed in a subdued voice. The gatekeeper grasped her left hand tightly, but Ebony thought she glimpsed fear peak out from his eyes. Irritated, she continued, "Don't even try to intimidate me right now. I am NOT in the mood."

The bone crushing grip on her hand slackened, and the music began. Soon, they were weaving through the mass of masked demons. Ebony had actually been surprised by how fluidly she was moving in her heels. The gatekeeper looked down at her and smiled,

"I said to you that we wouldn't look like fools, did I not?"

"Yeah, yeah, you were right and I was wrong." She responded mockingly.

Perfect white pearls shone at her and she rolled her eyes, "Let's just keep dancing."

**OooOooO**

"Nice distraction sis." Dante grinned as he stared down at the silver head of hair from the balcony. He glanced off to his side, "Now keep doing that while I find our stuff."

He could sense his sword calling out to him, and it was close. He glanced back at his sister to make sure she was still dancing with the gatekeeper before he strode down the hallway. He noticed as the glorious pristine walls gradually became duller as he continued down the hallway. A few straggling demons passed by him, oblivious to the fact that the son of their traitor was among them.

Dante stopped in front of a tall mahogany door. He pushed the heavy door open, went through and closed the door behind him with a soft thud. He glanced around warily, everything had been too easy. Dante let his eyes adjust to the darkness before he started walking again. He had barely walked 5 steps when he leapt back. The soft click was followed by a whoosh as a giant guillotine blade slammed into the ground. He watched as it retracted into the the ceiling.

"That's cute." Dante said glibly. He started down the darkened hallway, "Wonder what other surprises thy have down there?" He interlocked his fingers and pushed them outwards until a string of pops reached his ear, "Well, let's find out!" He took off running into the hallway, followed by multiple clicks. He dodged the activated booby traps, brushed up next to a blade that swung down at him that threatened to split him through the middle, he leapt over the flames hurtled at him, the flames lit up his mask, his gleeful grin made it look malicious. Various booby traps kept activating, and Dante blazed through without breaking a sweat.

"If only I had an audience." He said to himself in a display of aerobics he somersaulted through a gap in a spiked wall that hurtled towards him, followed by a horizontal spin in the air as a blade zinged through the air. He landed lightly on his feet, and glanced around, prepared for any sudden trap he had missed. He took a few steps forward, and came to a realization that there was nothing else. He continued on until he heard a tiny click of gears. With a growl, he threw himself forward into a somersault as a large square portion of the ceiling descended upon him. A loud thud indicated that it had connected with the ground, narrowly missing the tail of his red suit. He straightened himself and dusted off the expensive clothes before looking back at the new wall behind him.

He turned around with a grumble, once he was positive that there were no more traps, he continued down the hall at a leisurely pace. He sensed that Rebellion couldn't be far away. He was glad when the hallway opened up into a large, lit up room. Thousands of weapons hung on the walls and racks, some dating back to be thousands of years old, others looked as if they had just been made. He turned to see his sword hung up on the stone wall, along with Ebony's and Redom's swords. He reached out, willing his sword to come to him. With a frown, he walked over to where it hung and grabbed the hilt. His frown deepened when his sword didn't budge.

"The hell...?" He was about to yank it again when he heard multiple cracks throughout the room. He stared at the wall as it began to crumble before his eyes. He leapt back when his own sword struck out at him. He noticed something black wrapped around his sword, his eyes narrowed as he followed the strange material towards a dark corner of the room. He dodged another attack, this time it was from Redom's sword, which was covered in the same black material. With wide eyes, Dante watched as all the swords in the room detached themselves from the walls. The black material clung on each blade like a leech, and they all came from the same corner of the room. Dante narrowed his eyes at the figure in the corner. It shambled forward into the light, once Dante laid eyes on it, he grimaced.

"Damn, you're ugly."

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_I would love it if you guys reviewed, it always motivates me, have I great day my readers!_


	9. Chapter 9

_HELLO MY DEAR READERS!_

_Now that summer is here, I finally have time to work on this! :D_

_**Cereza101: **Why, thank you my dear! :) It makes me happy to do so!  
_

**_leafsdownfall:_**_ Aww *blushes* thank you, I'm trying my hardest to keep them in character! Although it sometimes doesn't work out too well XD And I'm so glad that you enjoy my OC's! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!_

**_Amon Delacroix:_**_ I'm glad that it wasn't boring! And you have no idea how relived I am now that school's done, oh yeah, choir is so freaking stressful at my school. I love it though! __  
_

_Thank you to those how favorited/followed my story! And now, here's the long awaited chapter!_

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**Chapter 9**

Ebony couldn't see anything except swirling colors. The music had changed tempo, and now her and the gatekeeper rushed through the other dancing demons.

"Dare I say it? You're starting to look dizzy my dear angel."

"I feel like I'm going to throw up." Ebony gasped.

"You're in luck my dear. The song is just about to end."

When he said that, the bass held out its last note and let it fade.

"Thank God!" Ebony let go of the gatekeeper and pushed her way through the demons to go stand by the overflowing tale of food and drinks. She pressed her hands against the hard wood and hung her head, "I hated that dance."

"You thank God in my realm? God has no hand here." The gatekeeper said as he stepped up next to her.

"It's just an expression." Ebony explained, irritated.

The gatekeeper looked as though he was about to say something when he was interrupted.

"My Lady, may I have this dance with you?"

Ebony was about to object, when she looked up and gave a slight pause.

"I accept."

She was about to accept the gloved hand when the gatekeeper grabbed the man's wrist, his golden eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Who are you, I do not recognize you." He hissed under his breath.

The man looked at the gatekeeper trough his mask, "I am just another plus one."

The gatekeeper released his wrist hesitantly, and kept a wary eye on him. He tore his gaze away from the stranger and bowed to Ebony.

"It was a pleasure to dance with you, my dear angel." He straightened, threw a glare at the stranger, and then turned to leave.

Ebony took the masked man's hand and he led her out onto the dance floor.

"That was close." Ebony breathed in relief. The music started up again, a slow, calming sound, and they began to dance.

"It was a little too close for my liking."

"I thought he was going to eat you alive for a second. I'm glad you managed to get me away from him, I'd much rather dance with a demon I know than him. Especially if it's you, Redom."

Redom peered down at her with a gentle smile playing on his lips, "I understand, I would dance with myself as well. I must admit that I am one handsome devil."

Ebony rolled her eyes, "Have you seen Dante sneaking around? I lost track of him a couple of songs back."

Redom shook his head, "I'm afraid not."

Ebony frowned, "I can't shake the feeling that he's going to try something stupid."

"Given Dante's reputation, I would not be surprised."

**OooOooO**

Dante dodged the swords, hearing a loud clang above him as they all struck together. He was furious that the creature was using his own sword against him. he had to get it back somehow. He saw the swords come down towards him and he rolled out of the way,

"If you give me my sword back, I'll kill you quickly!" He called out to the creature. Dante felt like it didn't even understand the words coming out of his mouth. Its eyes remained blank, its neck twisted at such an odd angle that it seemed to be broken. Its body barely seemed responsive to anything. Wisps of black hair fell around its decaying, elongated face. It let out a low growl, its pointed yellow teeth clacked together.

"It's your funeral." He taunted, "Then again, it looks like you've already had one." He saw the monster attack with the thousands of swords. Constantly on the move, Dante searched for his own sword among the thousands.

"Come on! You gotta try better than that if ya wanna catch me!" Dante called out. He ran up the wall as a sword threatened to impale him, instead it impaled the stone wall. Dante grabbed the hilt, and tore the black material with his bare hand. He yanked the sword free and turned to block the multiple swords aiming for him.

"This is getting boring. You should liven it up a bit!"

The demon gnashed its teeth, a glint of light caught Dante's eye, "That better not be…" A barrage of bullets answered his question. He swung the thin sword in his hand to deflect some of the bullets. He had only blocked a handful when the blade shattered in his hand, "Dammit." He growled under his breath as he threw the deadly shattered blade at the demon. Its head snapped back and Dante grinned victoriously, "That's what you get for touching my guns." His victory was short lived when multiple swords attacked him. He jumped back, but one if the swords grazed his leg. He swore loudly as he watched the demon's head snap back into its broken place, the hilt of the sword protruded from its forehead.

Dante knew that if he stayed still for too long, he would become a living pincushion. He maneuvered his way through the flailing swords, focused on finding his own sword. He flipped backwards as a couple dozen swords flew at him, threatening to tear into his body. He knocked aside a couple of the swords and dove through the air as swords clashed together where he had just been. He was knocked back by a clump of black material slammed into him. He flew back into a stone wall and heard the stone shatter behind him and he fell through. He coughed and shook his head. Dust fell off and covered his red clothes. He didn't have enough time to move when a couple of swords impaled him. He saw a dagger come down at him, about to take off his head but he reached up and grabbed it. He then reached towards its grip and tore off the black material on it. He slashed the dagger through the black matter on the swords implanted in his body and stood up. More swords came at him and he leapt out of reach. Dante started to yank out the swords in his body one by one and threw them across the room towards the zombie-like demon. Some of the swords were deflected, but most managed to skewer the demon.

There was an off movement from the corner of Dante's eye; he turned to see his sword tremble. He leapt up, landed on the flat edge of a sword and pushed off of it, reaching for Rebellion. He managed to grab the hilt and hung there for a moment. The demon seemed to realize what Dante was trying to do and made a desperate attempt to shake him off. Dante held on, a few seconds later, he reached up with his other hand and tore the black material from his sword. He dropped down from where he had been with Rebellion in hand.

"You're gonna pay for that."

The demon continued to clack its teeth together as another volley of bullets flew out at Dante. Dante rolled to the side, blocking swords that attacked him during his dodge. With a roar, he shoved the swords away and ran towards the demon. Swords shot out from the darkness followed by bullets and Dante dodged them with ease, jumping onto the swords and running across them and the black material. He sliced away at the black material behind him. The clatter of swords against the stone floor filled the room. The black material melted before him, and the demon visibly sagged with the destruction of the matter. Dante alighted on the ground in front of the zombie-like creature and stared at it down his nose.

"Just so you know," he raised his sword until it was level with the demons chest, "It's not gonna be an open-casket funeral."

With that, Dante drove his sword into the demons chest. The demon remained still for a moment, its eyes glued to the red-devil before him. The rest happened quickly. With Rebellion still inside the demon, Dante grabbed the hilt of another sword skewered into its and slashed both of the swords upwards. He spun away from the demon as he heard the spray of blood. Dante sheathed his sword, dropped the foreign one and started walking away. He paused and held out his hands. Ebony and Ivory fell into his gloved hands and he spun them and placed them in the back of his pants, since his holster had disappeared when they had passed through the portal.

Dante turned his head and scanned the mass of swords piled on the ground. He kicked away a few swords with his foot,

"It's like finding a needle in a haystack." He muttered as he began searching for Aerib and Redom's sword.

**OooOooO**

"You have no idea how happy I am that this is a slow song."

Redom raised an eyebrow at Ebony, "is that so?"

Ebony nodded, "Trust me, it was pathetic. The last dance I had with him almost made me sick." She let out an embarrassed chuckle, "I can dance. I'm just... I'm not that good."

"I think you are doing just fine." Redom complimented.

Ebony smiled up at him, "Thanks."

_"Hey Eb... Eb... Eb..."_

Ebony frowned, "What?" She snapped out loud.

Redom raised an eyebrow at the sudden outburst, Ebony realized what she had said and mouthed, "Dante."

Redom nodded.

_"Are ya ready to bust this joint?"_

_"Dante..."_ Ebony warned.

_"Just look up will ya?"_ Ebony tilted her head up and searched, _"Getting warmer, a little bit more to your left..."_

Ebony's eyes fell on Dante who was waving his hand with a sword in it.

_"Is that...?"_

_"Yep."_

_"Wait, are you planning something stupid?"_

_"Maybeeeee…"_ Ebony could hear the grin in his voice, _"Catch!"_

Ebony's eyes widened in surprise as Dante pulled back his arm and launched her sword at her. She side-stepped and pulled Redom with her, out of the path of the sword. He was startled when the sword embedded itself into the marble floor and ripped through the side of Ebony's black dress. He looked back as Dante tossed his own sword at him. Redom reached out and grabbed the hilt.

Thousands of heads turned towards the commotion.

Ebony let go of Redom and wrapped her hand around Aerib's hilt and yanked it out before she turned and glared up at Dante. Dante in turn grinned widely at her before he leaped over the rail and landed near them.

"You ripped my dress!"

"Come on Eb, you really think you have any mobility in that thing? Scold the guy that just wanted to help you out." Dante scoffed.

Ebony let out a frustrated sigh and brought up her sword, "From the looks of it, we won't be able to talk about this right now." She said as the three looked towards the crowd of demons, their eyes glowed and their faces distorted and became monstrous.

"We have to kill the gatekeeper to open the following portal into the next world." Redom told them. Dante's long fingers wrapped around the neck of a female demon that had launched herself at him.

"Well let's get to it!" He laughed.

Everything around them erupted, the demons took on their true forms as the trio readied for the oncoming battle. The sound of blades slicing through thick hide followed quickly after.

"Where's the gatekeeper?" Ebony called out as she decapitated a demon near her, spun around another one and kicked it in the back, breaking its spine.

"You were the one dancing with him. I thought you would know!" Dante answered as a sickening crack filled the air as he bashed in a monstrous skull.

Ebony soared through the air and landed on the railing of the second floor. She scanned the floor below her for any sign of the golden gatekeeper. She sensed something coming up behind her and she spun on the rail and swung her sword at the oncoming creature. Whoever it was, dodged the attack and rammed into Ebony. Both fell off the side of the rail and onto the ground below. Ebony let out a grunt as she fell on her side and quickly got to her feet as the demon reached for her. She drove her blade through the horned skull and pulled it out of the twitching corpse.

"You truly are an angel of death." She heard behind her. She spun around and narrowed her eyes at the golden mask,

"That's the best you could come up with? That's so cliché." She pointed her sword at his neck. His lips pulled up into a smile as he reached up and pulled his mask off. Golden eyes locked with cerulean ones, a challenge wordlessly passed. The gatekeeper accepted the challenge with a distortion of once handsome features. Ebony watched as his face elongated and he grew in size, arms and legs twisted grotesquely with a sickening crunch. Ebony did not waver. she stood still as she watched him take on his true form.

"Hey guys! I found him!" She called out to Redom and Dante.

"A little busy here Eb, stall him!" She heard Dante yell over the shrieks of demons.

Ebony shook her head, "Better hurry then, I might end up having all the fun here." She launched herself up into the air as a clawed hand crashed down. Her eyes narrowed at the golden demon, "You're going to have to try harder." She growled as she landed on its elbow. With a roar, the demon swiped at her with its other hand, which he dodged and cut off with Aerib.

The demon shrieked as it reached out with its other hand and attempted to grab her. Still in the air, she managed to flip away from the attack with ease. She alighted upon the ground before it exploded below her as the demon smashed his fist against it. She fumbled backwards and cursed as she felt one of the heels on the delicate shoes break off.

"I told you that you suck at walking in those." Ebony turned to see Dante's grin.

"Help me out? Distract him while I take these hell shoes off." She asked.

"Can do!" He laughed as he took off in the direction of the demon.

Ebony managed to tear her shoes off before she joined Dante in on the fray. She noticed that the gatekeepers golden eyes were gone, a long gash replaced them, and bright yellow blood spurted out continuously. Ebony parried the flailing limbs with ease. The demon screamed, Dante had cut through his leg. The demon wobbled and fell forwards towards Ebony. Ebony threw the end of her sword up into his throat, yellow blood splashed into the ground before her and splattered onto the black dress she wore. She twisted Aerib inside of him, which in turn made him writhe and gurgle loudly before she yanked it out and leapt back as he collapsed to the ground.

"You truly believe that you will make it through?" He garbled.

Ebony stared down at him, "Oh we will. You just won't be there to see it." She said to the wounded demon.

There was a deep rumble and Ebony realized that he was laughing.

"Don't expect to get so far. There will be more-"

There was a sickening squelch as Dante finished off the gatekeeper.

"What? Don't tell me you didn't want to kill him." Dante responded to the incredulous look Ebony gave him.

Ebony brought a hand to her forehead as she stepped back when a demon attacked, "We could've gotten more out of him." She said as she dropped her hand and drove the sword through a demons torso off to her side.

Dante shrugged, "I guess. But it would've been boring." A gunshot rang out, almost deafening Ebony as he shot a demon that had been creeping up behind her.

"Let's just find Redom and get out of here." She finished. She turned away and plowed through the demons. She left behind her a river of blood. Dante rolled his eyes, and then paused when he realized there were growing cracks along the walls. He followed the cracks up onto the ceiling, where dust sprinkled his face and made him sneeze. He wiped his face and ran into the mass of demons. "Guys! I think we need to find the exit right about now!" He yelled.

"Why?" Ebony panted as Aerib was plunged into a demon's stomach.

"This place is comin' down!" Right as he said that, a giant slab of the ceiling crashed down next to him. It ended up crushing multiple demons that had been ready to attack.

Dante heard Redom swear before he spoke, "We must find the entrance to the next realm!"

"Any ideas?" Ebony called out as she spun away from a couple of demons.

"What about that?" Dante lopped off the head of a demon in front of him and pointed at a mass of swirling dark matter on the other side of the room. The ceiling started to crumble and cave in.

"It's our only option, move!" Ebony yelled. The three of them took off towards the portal just as the ceiling began to collapse and crash down behind them.

"I bet I can beat you to it!" Dante challenged Ebony.

"You're on!" She smiled widely and began to run faster. Just as they were about to go through, the worst possible thing happened.

Ebony tripped.

Dante and Redom skidded to a stop

"Goddamn this dress!" She looked up, "Go! I'm right behind you!" She tossed Dante her sword. He took off towards the portal and threw a worried glance over his shoulder, she had picked herself up and held up her dress and bolted to the portal. She managed to leap through behind Dante and Redom with a few seconds to spare. The portal sealed shut behind them. She let out a heavy sigh and looked down at the dress only to see that she was wearing her normal clothes once more.

"Thank God. I didn't want to be stuck in that dress for the rest of our trip." She said, relieved. She held her hand out towards Dante and he handed her Aerib.

"You've gotten a little rusty, haven't ya sis?" Dante said with a smirk.

"You try living life as a normal, squishy human for 3 years before being thrown back into demon slaying and say you haven't gotten rusty." She huffed as she slung Aerib across her back.

"Touché." Dante chuckled.

"We need to continue pushing onwards." Redom interjected. The siblings turned to him.

"How many circles do we have to go through?" Dante asked him.

"At least 4 more, with each circle we enter, the demons become more powerful. All Hallows' Eve is quickly approaching as well, which mean that the longer we stay in one place, the more powerful they become."

"Oh joy. I'm looking forward to this." Ebony replied sarcastically.

"You better polish off those fighting skills Eb. But hey, no worries, if it gets too hard for ya, I'll take over." Dante grinned.

"Like hell you will! I'll be fine thank you!" She spun on her heel and took a couple of steps away from them before she stopped, "Ummm," she looked over her shoulder, "where are we?"

"I haven't the slightest. I have not seen anything that would give away what circle we are in." Redom responded.

"Wait..." Dante drew in a long breath, "If I smell what I think I smell... Then this must be heaven!"

Ebony slapped her forehead. "Seriously, Dante? This is the last place I would call heaven."

"Can't you smell that though?" He drawled, his face became serene, his eyes half-lidded.

"I believe that I now know where we are."

Ebony turned her gaze to Redom.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked him.

"When would Dante utilize the word 'heaven' for a smell?"

"When there's food around, but I don't under-" Ebony paused, her mouth forming a small 'o' as she glanced over at Dante, who was obviously oblivious to their conversation.

"Welcome to the circle of Gluttony."

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_So... I'm not the best at writing fight scenes, was that one decent? *chuckles nervously* Thank you again for reading! And it would be nice if you guys left a review! It fuels my motivation to write! :D_


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